“Laos, to my mind, has been the Wild West of dam building for a decade now, and it seems that reality is starting to catch up. Creditors like China might have to call in its debts by demanding control of assets.”
Category: Laos
Ministry encourages tree planting, fire prevention to boost forest cover
Laos plans to plant more than 11 million trees on 10,000 hectares leading up to National Arbour Day on June 1 as part of efforts to restore forest cover to 70 percent of the total land area by the end this year.
Banana Farms in Laos Sicken Villagers, Even as They Provide Steady Work
Villagers working on the Chinese plantations become weak and tired after only two or three years working, and often suffer from chronic headaches and dizziness believed to be from the use of chemicals.
Survivors of 2018 Dam Collapse in Laos Begin Receiving Compensation
“We in this village haven’t received rice seedlings yet. So far only two villages have. Besides the seedlings, we also need shovels and other tools for rice cultivation.”
Little Laos teeters towards big debt crisis
Laos’ finances are ‘inadequate’ to meet its foreign debt payments, and with Chinese loans and investment in all sectors of the economy, any future development will be more or less directed by Chinese interests.
Lao Citizens Charged High Rates For Power Amid Virus Shutdown
“Laos has been called the ‘battery of ASEAN, and we have so many dams,’ but electricity is more expensive here than it is in the countries that we sell power to.”
Five Miners Killed in Blast at Chinese Coal Mine in Laos
Five miners were killed and another left seriously injured in an explosion May 10 at a Chinese coal mine in the Ta Oy district of Saravane province in southern Laos.
Lao Villagers Sickened by Chemical Run-off From Chinese Banana Farms
Chemical waste from Chinese-owned banana farms is polluting a river in Bokeo province in northern Laos, leaving local villagers who bathe in the stream with severe rashes and other skin disorders.