Govt urged to tax Mekong development projects
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published : 14 Mar 2021 at 06:00
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Local communities along the Mekong River are asking the government to establish a fund, made up of collected tax revenues from development projects on the waterway, to compensate villagers affected by them. This fund [should] not be a corporate social responsibility scheme, said Ormbun Thipsuna, president of Network of Council of Mekong River Community in Seven Northeastern Provinces. It [should be] similar to a sin tax on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages to fund health projects. This fund must be handled by the government, not by project developers, Mr Ormbun said.
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‘Not Sufficient’: Thailand Rejects Report on Lao Hydropower Dam
The Sanakham dam is one of seven mega-dams that the landlocked country is planning, in defiance of environmental and economic sense.
January 26, 2021
The Mekong River at Chiang Khan, where it forms the border between Thailand and Laos.
Credit: Flickr/Frédéric Gloor
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Thailand has reportedly rejected a new technical report on Laos’ Sanakham hydropower project – the latest sign of the growing consternation about the impact of mega-dams on the ecology of the Mekong River basin.
On January 15, the country’s Chinese contractor submitted a revised technical report to the Thai National Mekong River Committee, which sought to address some concerns about the impact of the dam, but according to Radio Free Asia, the Thai government did not accept the revisions.
English By Radio Free Asia Share on Facebook
Thailand has rejected a new technical report on Laos’ Sanakham dam project, one of nine large-scale Mekong river mainstream dams integral to Vientiane’s controversial economic strategy of becoming the “Battery of Southeast Asia.”
The 684-megawatt Sanakham dam is one of seven dams in various stages of planning. At a cost of about $2 billion, it would take eight years to complete once construction starts in Laos’ northwestern Xayaburi province.
Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources told RFA’s Lao Service on Tuesday that it does not accept the revisions submitted Jan. 15 to the Thai National Mekong River Committee by the Chinese dam developer Datang Corporation Limited.