AFP
Laos faced pressure from its neighbours on Tuesday to delay construction of a controversial dam on the Mekong River as they failed to agree on a project that has sparked deep environmental concerns.
Officials from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam met in Vientiane to discuss the planned $3.8 billion Xayaburi dam in northern Laos, an impoverished Communist nation which sees hydropower as vital to its future.
Laos’s neighbours raised worries about insufficient environmental studies of the dam’s likely impact, according to a statement released after the meeting, while Laos said there was no need for further consultation.
Vietnam in particular expressed “deep and serious concerns” about a lack of adequate assessments, calling for the deferment of planned hydropower projects on the mainstream Mekong for at least 10 years.
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