Thai firm says Xayaburi project has begun

The controversial Xayaburi hydro-electric dam project in northern Laos may have already begun, despite countries, including Cambodia, requesting further studies to assess possible negative effects on Lower Mekong communities.Thai development firm Ch.Karnchang said it was due to begin building the dam on March 15 after finalising a construction contract with the Xayaburi Power Company. In the document, first sent to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Ch.Karnchang says its subsidiary Karnchang (Lao) will build the 1,260-megawatt dam on the Lower Mekong River over the course of eight years. Shares in the company rose as much as 2.5 per cent after it announced the 74 billion baht (US $2.4 billion) contract, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Surasak Glahan, communications officer with the Mekong River Commission secretariat in Vientiane, Laos, said member nations Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam had agreed in principle in December that further studies into the impact of the dam were needed before it could be built…

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