Thailand NGO seeks halt to Mekong dam project in Laos, as threat to Asean’s most vital waterway grows

A civic group in Thailand is petitioning the country’s financial institutions to withhold construction loans for the Luang Prabang dam project along the Mekong River in Laos amid warnings about the negative environmental risks the dams pose and the potential for the displacement of families on the river and loss of livelihoods.

The NGO Fair Finance Thailand earlier this month called on a number of financial institutions, including the central bank, to withhold loans until a feasibility study is done on what risk-mitigation measures have been taken for the project, which began construction last year, as well as on its “trans-boundary impact”.

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