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Samakomlao -> Samakomlao Main -> General -> Thailand, Laos agree to build 3 dams in Mekong river !
Post Info TOPIC: Thailand, Laos agree to build 3 dams in Mekong river !
samakomlao


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Thailand, Laos agree to build 3 dams in Mekong river !
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What do you think?



(KPL) Thailand and Laos have signed agreements to construct three dams where the Mekong river passes through Ubon Ratchathani, Nong Khai and Loei provinces, said Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on May 25.

According to VNA, once completed, the three dams will help retain water in the Mekong river, enabling Thai and Lao villagers who live on both sides of the river to have sufficient water for the whole year, PM Samak added.

He said he believed in the feasibility of the idea of diverting water from the Nam Ngum river in Laos through underground pipelines to feed Thailand 's northeastern people, for the reason that the Lao river is located on a higher ground than Thailand 's northeastern region.

The Thai PM also revealed a government project to divert water from the Mekong river to feed the water-starved northeastern region.

Water from the Mekong river in Chiang Khan district of Loei province would first be diverted for storing at Ubolratana Dam in Khon Kaen for agricultural production. The two provinces are 80 kilometres apart.



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Anonymous

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Water level of the Mekong is already very low during the dry season. Perhaps in future we can walk between Loei & Sayabouly, & Nong Khai & Vientiane, no need for the Friendship bridge during the dry season ;)

Not sure how this will affect the ecology of the river...maybe people living downriver will have less fish. Hmm if the naga don't like it will they stop producing 'bang fai phaya nak' during Ok Phansa? :P

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SeeHarHed


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The Mekong River Commission (MRC) will allow them to build not only 1 but 3 dams on MeKong River??  hhmmmmm..  the normal flows had already been disturbed.  i'm not even sure if it is feasible to build it..  the Mekong River contains alot of silts and debris.. that's just more and more maintaince work for the dam. 

i wonder if any engineering firms had done a studies on this yet... i sure like to read their reports..  

i'll do more research on this myself... if i find anything worth telling, i'll post some more later.



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Lan_Xang


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China had so many dam when the landslide block all the road their were no other options to get to the victims quickly. They did had 1 other option.......the river.....but it was all dam up.

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Anonymous

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Academics in bid to stop Mekong plan

The prime minister's idea to push ahead with the Mekong River water-diversion project and to build three hydro-electric dams in the Northeast region has caused concern among social science academics who yesterday came up with a statement opposing the plan.



In an open letter to the prime minister, 18 academics together with 95 environmental and community organisations demanded the government suspend any agreement related to the issue it has signed with the Laos government unless information about the projects is disclosed and public opinion is gathered.

The academics also called for feasibility studies on all water diversions and dam construction projects.

"The utilisation of Mekong River must be in line with sustainable development for the sake of the people in all downstream countries, not only for the sake of Thailand," said the letter.

In his weekly television show "Talk Samak Style" last Sunday, premier Samak Sundaravej said he had decided to push ahead with the controversial plan in which water from the Mekong in Laos would be diverted to Loei province and then stored in the Ubonrattana Dam in Khon Kaen province. Three dams would be constructed in Loei, Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani.

Samak said an agreement between Thailand and Laos had been signed.

The premier said it should not be a big problem for downstream countries to utilise the international river as China had already built several dams to block the river upstream.

Prapas Pintobtaeng, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University, said the government should learn from the negative consequences of China's dam construction on Thai communities and not repeat it.

"Villagers in Chiang Rai, whose lives depend on the Mekong, almost lost their livelihood as water levels in the river have fluctuated as a result of the dams in China," he said.

Initiated by the state for more than a decade, the Mekong water-diversion project has faced strong opposition from environmentalists and society due to its potential to cause damage to fish-stocks in the river and the livelihood of those who depend on it.

Once in power, almost every government has asked related state agencies to both review and seek ways to push ahead with the project. However, no government, except the Samak administration, has decided to carry it through. When he became prime minister in February, Samak immediately announced he would proceed with project to divert water for the agriculture sector.


By: Pennapa Hongthong
The Nation
Published on May 29, 2008
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Anonymous

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do they care about the farmer who live along the river at all?
how about the people who use that river for living
how about fish?
my goodness



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SeeHarHed


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The Mekong River Commission (MRC) are joint by 4 countries Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodian.  These 3 dams will more likely to benifits Thailand than the rest of 3 countries.  I just can not imagine they will turn Mekong River into Mekong Lakes.  Many lives along the river will be effected by these construction of dams.  I hope other international environmental agencies will try to put a stop to this as well..  I just hope that Laos doesn't turn out to be the most dams country in the world.

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Anonymous

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This is so stupid! I know everything is about money but they are not thinking about their people and the environment. We'll see what happens in the future. Hope all goes good, if not I'll be over here laughing at how stupid the Lao gov is. hahaha

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