Nam Theun 2 / key documents

Laos has declared it a national priority to catalyze the country's development through the rapid construction of large dams that export high-risk hydropower to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam.

International Rivers' briefing paper describing the Nam Theun 2 project, its unsettled questions and broken promises, at the time of reservoir filling.

 

International Rivers' February 2008 Nam Theun 2 report, based on a recent site visit by International Rivers’ staff, shows that shortcomings and delays in programs to compensate villagers and restore their incomes have not been addressed. Furthermore, it is unclear if resettlement infrastructure for more than 6,200 villagers on the Nakai Plateau will be completed on time for reservoir filling to begin in June 2008.

World Rivers Review article detailing the problems with Nam Theun 2, based on International Rivers' recent visit to the project area.

Halfway through Nam Theun 2's construction, livelihood restoration programs for affected villagers are in jeopardy. IRN visited the area in March 2007 and gathered first-hand information from communities about how the project is affecting their lives.

Nam Theun 2 map and basic project facts

An article by Aviva Imhof in Bankwatch, published by the NGO Forum on the ADB, examines Nam Theun 2's failings and draws parallels to other ADB-funded dams in Laos: Theun-Hinboun, Nam Song and Nam Leuk. The article also highlights the ADB's role in promoting a regional power grid and electricity trading system in the Mekong subregion.

In June 2006, three IRN staff members visited the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project area. The report from their visit outlines concerns and recommendations concerning downstream channel compensation, the Xe Bang Fai livelihood restoration program, resettlement, salvage logging, biomass clearance, environmental impacts of construction and information disclosure.

Because an independent review of the developers’ plans is not possible in Lao PDR, International Rivers Network and Environmental Defense invited several experts in Thailand and the United States to review the November 2004 drafts of the Nam Theun 2 Social Development Plan, Environmental Assessment and Management Plan, and Watershed Management Plan (SEMFOP-1).