The headlong rush to dam the Mekong River in Southeast Asia has been highlighted by rare footage from a major dam under construction near the historic Lao city of Luang Prabang.
The three-billion-dollar dam is one of seven new mainstream dams on this stretch of the Lower Mekong that Lao plans to build. But those three are a fraction of the 200 dams, that are already built, under construction or planned for the lower Mekong and its tributaries, mainly in Laos and Cambodia, according to the Stimson Center’s Mekong project.
The 1,460 megawatt Luang Prabang hydro dam is the third in Laos to block the main artery of the lower Mekong. It is expected to be operating by 2027.The Pak Beng dam being built upstream, could be operating by 2029. The Xayaburi dam south of Luang Prabang was completed in 2019 and the Don Sahong dam, upstream from the Laos-Cambodian border, a year later.
A video shot by a worker at the Luang Prabang dam about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the ancient city, which was provided to Radio Free Asia, shows that construction is proceeding rapidly.
Experts have repeatedly warned that Mekong dams will destroy the freshwater fisheries that are a crucial source of calories for the region’s people.
Built by a consortium of Thai and other companies, the Luang Prabang dam is part of Laos’s growing role as a regional electricity exporter.
The government has pursued that strategy even as it fails to ensure a reliable electricity supply for its own citizens.
Over a couple of decades, the cost of all the dams built or planned in Laos is about US$40 billion and largely financed by foreign banks, according to researcher Pon Souvannaseng.
“Regional banks were able to continuously pump money into project after project after project because they didn’t adhere to international environmental standards,” she said last month.
The dam construction is also hurting the tourism industry in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In a country ruled by a one-party communist state that does not tolerate dissent, a river guide spoke to RFA on condition we hide his identity.
“Foreigners come here. They want to go on a boat trip, they want to see nature, they want to see trees, they want to see birds, they want to see cows, they want to see buffaloes along the riverbank, just like before.
Now, with the Luang Prabang dam, the banks are collapsing.
”The partial blockage of the river as the dam is built makes it difficult for tourist boats to operate.
Locals say the number of tourists visiting local attractions on the river has plummeted recently. Changes in the river flow have also caused river bank erosion.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Stephen Wright and Ginny Stein for RFA.