With its vast, complex network of tributaries, the Mekong river system has been identified as a valuable source of hydroelectricity generation from as early as the 1960s. Special to BenarNews 2020-05-13. If approved, construction will break ground at the end of the year and be operational by 2028. BANGKOK: Laos has submitted plans to build a new hydropower dam on the Mekong River, with construction expected to start later this year, the Mekong River … Share ; Comment; Email; A stretch of the Mekong River near the planned site of the Sanakham Dam in northern Laos is shown in a satellite image, April 28, 2020. Laos Moves Forward Plans to Build Seventh Large-Scale Mekong River Dam. Planet Labs Inc. LAOS has submitted plans to build a new hydropower dam later this year and started consultations with the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Today, the Lower Mekong Basin is a key site for large-scale hydropower dam development,1 and it is estimated that it has the potential to generate 30,000 megawatts (MW) […] Laos submitted the dam plans to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) earlier this month. BANGKOK, April 13 (Reuters) - China's Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last … By changing the river's hydrology, blocking fish migration and affecting the river's ecology, the construction of dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream will … China has agreed to share more hydrological data with the Mekong River Commission by extending the hydrological data provision by 30 days, starting on June 1 until October 31, every year, as well as increasing the frequency of the data sharing to twice a day. Dams are known to threaten fish populations, cause major soil erosion and alter natural river hydrology, jeopardizing the future of the entire lower Mekong River basin as a life-sustaining ecosystem. Dam construction on the lower Mekong is overseen, nominally, by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). The dam developer of Lancang dams, Hydrolancang, has taken environmental and social concerns into consideration in several cases. Damming the Lower Mekong, Devastating the Ways and Means of Life Thailand funded the first dam on the river in Laos, and it is Thai towns, farms and fisheries that are suffering. “The Mekong River will be drier because of the dams in China, the Xayaburi dam and in the near future the Sanakham dam. Laos has completed two dams on the Mekong River, the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi Dam and the 260-megawatt Don Sahong Dam last year, despite objections here by environmental groups. The development of the Mekong River Basin is highly controversial, and is one of the most … Tweet. While China’s program to dam the Mekong is moving ahead on schedule, proposals to do the same on the Southeast Asian section of the river have been put on hold. It will produce 684 megawatts of electricity, the majority of which will be sold to Thailand. A file satellite image shows Xayaburi Dam sitting astride the normally brown waters of the Mekong River near the town of Xayaboury, Laos, Dec 24, 2017. Eleven massive dams straddle the mighty Mekong River before it leaves China and flows into Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and on into Vietnam. …