Sun Thaya has depended on his taxi boat for his income for years. On average, he said, he earns around 200,000 kips a month, or about $25, to take tourists to see river dolphins on the border between Laos and Cambodia. When there are no tourists, the Lao boatman just fishes in the area to feed his family.
Category: Laos
Lao Authorities Pick New Company to Complete Road Upgrade Project
Government authorities in Laos have selected a new company to upgrade a major thoroughfare in the capital Vientiane, after the firm submitted an estimate that was lower than one quoted by a Chinese company believed to have ties to the country’s national leaders.
In Laos’ economic zone, a casino and illicit trade beckon in ‘lawless playground’
Critics say the zone has instead become a mecca of gambling, prostitution and illicit trade, raising questions about the spillover effects of China’s growing economic clout beyond its borders.
Laos intends to set up two nuclear facilities with Rosatom assistance
power-technology.com Laos is in talks with Russian State atomic energy corporation Rosatom to set up nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the country. The Southeast Asian country, one of the global leaders for hydropower, intends to set up two nuclear power units of VVER-type, with a capacity of 1000MW-1200MW each. Laos is located at the centre […]
Green Light for Mekong ‘Time Bomb’ Sparks Alarm
Environmental groups have expressed alarm at the Laotian National Assembly’s approval last week of the concession for the Don Sahong Dam project, which has been described as an “ecological time bomb” about to be dropped on the Mekong River.
Don Sahong dam gets official approval
The Lao parliament has approved the concession agreement for the controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam and expects to begin construction before the end of the year, according to an official in Vientiane.
Rights Groups, Wife of Missing Lao Activist Renew Calls for Progress in Case
Somnet Inthapannha Human rights groups and the wife of a prominent civil rights leader who disappeared nearly three years ago have called on the Lao government to adequately investigate the incident and provide information about the case’s progress. Sombath Somphone went missing on Dec. 15, 2012, when police stopped him in his vehicle at a […]
Laos is acting responsibly on Mekong dam project
Environmental activists are once again lashing out at the Lao government and the intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) in the hope that hydropower projects on the Mekong will be delayed or cancelled.