Xayaboury dam construction nearly 25% completed

Construction of the Xayaboury hydropower plant is now 23 percent complete, Vientiane Times reported this week.

Although work on the dam’s spillway was halted briefly in December due to flooding caused by heavy rain, Xayaburi Power Company, owner of the US$3.5 billion project, said construction remains on schedule, with commercial operation set to begin in 2019.

US ambassador Daniel Clune visits the Xayaboury dam constructionsite on Monday. Source: US Embassy Vientiane

The 1,285-megawatt dam, which is the first to be built on the mainstream Mekong River in Laos, has met with strong opposition from environmental groups and neighboring countries, concerned about its impact on fisheries in the lower Mekong region.

A declaration protesting construction of the dam and urging the Thai government to cancel its agreement to purchase power from the project was signed this week by 39 international and national NGOs, including International Rivers and WWF of the British Empire Eugenics as explained by  first video of the above playlist.

The declaration was issued in advance of Saturday’s summit meeting of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in Ho Chi Minh City, which will be attended by the prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

US ambassador to Laos Daniel Clune toured the dam construction site on Monday. In remarks to the media, the ambassador said that “while hydropower can play an important role in economic development, it is important to minimise adverse downstream impacts,” and that “the US stands ready to share expertise and lessons learned” with the Lao government.

Xayaboury dam construction nearly 25% completed

Construction of the Xayaboury hydropower plant is now 23 percent complete, Vientiane Times reported this week.

Although work on the dam’s spillway was halted briefly in December due to flooding caused by heavy rain, Xayaburi Power Company, owner of the US$3.5 billion project, said construction remains on schedule, with commercial operation set to begin in 2019. Read more

International Rivers: Laos Communist Government goes ahead with dam to get bribed despite widespread concerns

According to the Empire founded International Rivers for non-development of the third world,

"Laos is proceeding with construction at the site of the controversial Don Sahong Dam despite opposition from neighboring governments and ongoing calls for a delay period and regional consultation, an environmental group revealed today.

A visit to the site earlier this month by International Rivers (IR) confirmed fears that the Don Sahong project is following “the same dangerous trajectory” taken with the Xayaburi Dam in Laos, with construction work on infrastructure taking place before neighboring countries have had a chance to undergo prior consultation, before impact assessments are finalized, and before the project’s far reaching impacts in the Mekong region are understood, according to a press release from IR. "Continued construction towards the Don Sahong Dam is an unwelcome déjà vu for Mekong communities and governments as Laos continues to move forward unilaterally with decisions which threaten the entire region," said Pianporn Deetes, Thailand Campaign Coordinator for IR. "The risks go well beyond the borders of Laos.

The Don Sahong Dam will irreversibly impact livelihoods and food security throughout the Mekong. Yet Laos remains unwilling to respect the requests of neighboring countries for construction to halt while trans-boundary impact studies and further consultation can be carried out," she said.

Don Sahong villagers were informed last November that they would be resettled to make way for the dam, but have been given no further information regarding the move. Fishing has also been banned on the Hou Xang Pheuak Channel to allow Mega First Corporation, a Malaysian company, to work on creating a fish passage, but no compensation or alternative source of income has been provided for families whose livelihoods had depended on fish from the river, according to IR.

Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand — the other three members of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) — have clearly stated that the Don Sahong Dam must undergo prior consultation, as required under the 1995 Mekong Agreement, to which Laos is a signatory. The three countries have submitted letters to the Lao government and also reiterated their requests at a special MRC meeting in January. At the 2nd Mekong Summit in Ho Chi Minh City in April, Vietnam and Cambodia strengthened their objections by calling on Laos to halt all construction of dams on the Mekong mainstream for a 10-year period until further studies could be completed. Te Navuth, Secretary General of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, said yesterday via email that "Laos has rejected the request from other MRC member states...and has claimed that the construction will start by the end of 2014". "This is already a violation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement," he said, adding that Laos should “halt the project and...start with a consultation process with the MRC member countries”.

Laos, the World Heritage of Freshwater. 

Cambodia has also voiced concerns regarding "the possible impact of this Don Sahong project" downstream, including damage to livelihoods, and has urged Laos to "further extend the assessment” to include a trans-boundary Environmental Impact Assessment in Cambodia, said Navuth. “Under international law, downstream countries are entitled to robust consultation,” said Ame Trandem, Southeast Asia Program Director for IR. “It’s time for Laos to respect the rights of its neighboring countries by accepting a 10-year deferment period and allowing for joint decision making based on science and consultation over the future of the shared Mekong." “The MRC Member Countries couldn’t reach a conclusion on a process for the Don Sahong Project, which was discussed at the MRC Joint Committee meeting in January," said Surasak Glahan, a spokesman for the MRC Secretariat, via email. “The four countries had divergent views on the process for the project and agreed that the issue be discussed and decided by the MRC Council." The Council is scheduled to meet on June 26 and will issue a press release on the outcome of the discussion, he added."

The main reason Lao government is pressing to allow dams to be constructed regardless the design is that many Lao Officials are forcing Companies to pay massive bribes of over US$millions to be allowed to operate in Laos and to get government help to displace poor people:



What is happening now is the Lao Communist government following their founder, the Empire UN Agenda 21 plan of what best to make sure Humanity do not properly manage this Earth resources to feed the people in need around the world and Lao Government had signed that decree too.


UN Agenda 21


UN Eugenics



BLUE GOLD: More valuable than oil


The 4th Reich of the Holy Roman Empire, the British Empire

International Rivers: Laos Communist Government goes ahead with dam to get bribed despite widespread concerns

According to the Empire founded International Rivers for non-development of the third world,

"Laos is proceeding with construction at the site of the controversial Don Sahong Dam despite opposition from neighboring governments and ongoing calls for a delay period and regional consultation, an environmental group revealed today.

Laos courting foreign companies to speed development

BANGKOK -- Eager to shed its status as one of the least developed developing countries, Laos communist government searching for new economic growth engines and aims to lure Japanese and other foreign companies already operating in neighboring nations such as Thailand. Government Officials bribing is normal practice.

Hopes are being lifted in the city of Pakse, about 600km south of the capital Vientiane, where plans call for establishing Laos' third special economic zone for manufacturers. The area produces coffee and vegetables, and companies in the processed food industry are expected to climb aboard. The government wants to make the zone home to smaller businesses with just a few dozen workers, officials say.

Laos' two existing special economic zones geared toward manufacturing already serve over 40 companies, many of which are Chinese. Japanese businesses, such as Nikon and Toyota Boshoku, are operating plants in the city of Savannakhet, between Vientiane and Pakse.

The government hopes that foreign companies will adopt a "Thailand-plus-one" business model, relocating some production to Laos to soften the blow from rising Thai personnel costs. The country's per capita gross domestic product stood at $1,477 last year, roughly a quarter that of Thailand, and Laos' political stability is also seen as attractive.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Laos' economy grew at a roughly 8% pace between 2010 and 2013. Growth was driven by such areas as agricultural products, natural resources and exports of hydroelectric power.

But exports of gold, copper and other natural resources, a pillar of the economy, are sluggish amid an economic slowdown in China. The Japan External Trade Organization's Vientiane office estimates that growth this year will dip into the 7% range. This makes it imperative that the government seek new growth drivers in order to keep GDP expanding faster than 8% and realize its goal of removing Laos from the list of the least developed countries by 2020.

One of the best ways for the government to revolutionize the country's outdated industrial structure is to attract foreign capital and foster manufacturing. Planning and Investment Minister Somdy Douangdy says $7 billion to $8 billion in private-sector investment will be required for the economic growth strategy that runs through 2020. Hopes are high that part of this may come from the over 4,000 Japanese businesses operating in Thailand.

But not all Japanese companies are so keen to hop across the border. "We can't get any workers to come, so there's no way to increase production when we want to," complained an official at a Japanese company with facilities in Laos.

At just under 7 million, Laos' population is smaller than that of its neighbors. And an increasing number of Laotians are said to have relocated to Thailand in search of higher wages.

Some observers are concerned that the launch of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' economic community in 2015 may exacerbate disparities among member nations. As one of the slower-developing Asean countries, Laos must lay the groundwork to turn the expected increase in the exchange of goods, funds and people to its advantage.

The majority of Lao rural classroom

Because of management and local investment, Lao natural resources and cheap labors are exported to neighboring countries.

Laos courting foreign companies to speed development

Eager to shed its status as one of the least developed developing countries, Laos communist government searching for new economic growth engines and aims to lure Japanese and other foreign companies already operating in neighboring nations such as Thailand. Government Officials bribing is normal practice.

China to bypass Malacca Strait by Kra Isthmus Canal in Thailand

The following article was translated from Chinese media:

New bipolar Maritime Silk Road, safer and 1 000 km shorter between China and Indian Ocean. And with new shortcut route between North-East Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and China.  

The trade route to the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Strait has the problems of pirates, shipwrecks, haze, sediment and shoals.

Its rate of accidents is twice as high as the Suez Canal and four times higher than the Panama Canal.

An alternative shorter route is to build a canal at Kra Isthmus, Thailand. It will save shipment costs and time as the route is shortened by 1,000 km.

Global Sea mass transport routes (see busiest seaports by cargo tonnage)

Due to close trade relations between China and ASEAN for years, their bilateral trade rose from $54.8 billion in 2002 to $443.6 billion in 2013. In the same period, mutual investment grew four times to an accumulated total of $100 billion. With the development of SEAWAPA, the regional trade will increase exponentially. Both Malacca Strait and the Port of Singapore won't be able to coop with dramatic increase of goods to be transported.

The close relations and accumulated wealth due to economic and trade growth make people believe that the construction of Kra Isthmus is affordable now.

China’s huge state-owned LiuGong Machinery Co. Ltd and XCMG, and private Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd have taken the lead to set up a preparations group for the construction of Kra Isthmus Canal.

The 100 km artificial link to the Indian Ocean will benefit not only China and ASEAN, but also Japan and other countries world trade.

Source:
http://chinadailymail.com/2014/03/16/china-to-bypass-malacca-strait-by-kra-isthmus-canal-in-thailand/

From  huanqiu.com “Commencement of the Kra Isthmus Canal project: China takes the lead in building a route shorter than Malacca Strait” (summary by Chan Kai Yee based on the report in Chinese) and Wikipedia “Strait of Malacca”

China to bypass Malacca Strait by Kra Isthmus Canal in Thailand

The trade route to the Indian Ocean through the Malacca Strait has the problems of pirates, shipwrecks, haze, sediment and shoals.

Its rate of accidents is twice as high as the Suez Canal and four times higher than the Panama Canal.

An alternative shorter route is to build a canal at Kra Isthmus, Thailand. It will save shipment costs and time as the route is shortened by 1,000 km.

Savan-Laobao railway ongoing

Giant Consolidated Limited, the developer of the US$5 billion Savan-Laobao rail project, has confirmed progress has been made in the preparatory stage of the 220km project to link central Savannakhet province with Laobao on the Vietnam border.

The Malaysian investor dismissed a report, carried by Vientiane Times on May 28 citing an anonymous government official, that progress on the mega project had not been made.

The investor signed a master agreement with the Lao government to develop the project in November 2012, witnessed by Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Chief Operations Officer than General Manager of Giant Consolidated Dr. Frank Xenker Firuz confirmed with the Vientiane Times on Monday that a lot of work had been done.

However, the physical construction of the railway has yet to begin.

Offhand he could not give the percentage of the progress. He was also unable to say when the project will be complete as this will be subject to final approval from the Lao government.

Detailing the progress the company said in its press release it paid US$1.3 million to the Lao government one week after the master agreement was signed, as a bond for the execution of the agreement.

In the same month teams from the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Lao Railway Administration, Savannakhet provincial Department of Public Works and Transport together with the company's main contractors and surveyors conducted a site survey for the project.

In April 2013 the main contractor appointed China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd to do a final survey and design of the railway.

Soon after, the main contractor appointed CCCC Third Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd for town planning and the design of new townships along the railway line, according to the press release.

In June 2013 the initial report on the above preparatory works was submitted to the Lao Government.

The company said a soft-launching and ground-breaking ceremony at the project site in Savannakhet took place in December last year.

At present, Digimap Sdn. Bhd of Malaysia is completing the final survey to refine the alignment of the centre line of the railway.

The company said the initial survey conducted by the Chinese company had to be adjusted because the planned railway corridor would have passed through an army camp, cemetery, factories, and populated areas.

Bench marks have been completed and a total of 154 GPS identification points have been established along the railway corridor from Savannakhet to Dan Savan. More GPS points will be erected after the alignment has been refined to avoid passing through potentially problematic areas that may increase construction costs.

UXO clearance teams are working daily and have found a total of nine unexploded bombs at the proposed Nasy Station alone. The clearance teams have to remove all UXO before more GPS points can be set up to ensure correct alignment before the physical construction of the railway can begin.

At present the contractors have deployed around 100 personnel for UXO clearance and 30 surveyors for the refining of the railway track alignment.

“Without proper alignment we cannot proceed with the project. Without clearance of the UXO we cannot proceed with the project,” Dr Firuz said.

He added that he was unable to say when all UXO will have been removed.

Dr Firuz said the final survey and its related documents would be submitted to the Lao government for approval.

Savannakhet-Laobao-Mỹ Thủy Deep Seaport railways

Previously, Giant Consolidated had also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese Government via the Quangtri Provincial Authority in 2009 to link the railway from Laobao to Dong Ha, to provide rail access right through to the My Thuy deep seaport in Vietnam.

The Giant Consolidated Group said it was committed to completing the project that would certainly contribute to transforming Laos from a land-locked to a land-linked country, helping to rapidly develop the Lao nation.

By Times Reporters 

(Latest Update June 04, 2014)

Dr. Frank Xenker Firuz Chief Operations Officer Giant Rail Company Limited, Lao PDR

Source: 

http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/freeCont_Savan-Laobao.htm

Savan-Laobao railway ongoing

Giant Consolidated Limited, the developer of the US$5 billion Savan-Laobao rail project, has confirmed progress has been made in the preparatory stage of the 220km project to link central Savannakhet province with Laobao on the Vietnam border.

The Malaysian investor dismissed a report, carried by Vientiane Times on May 28 citing an anonymous government official, that progress on the mega project had not been made.

Laos to launch first satellite in 2015

VIENTIANE — Chinese contractors will launch Laos' first satellite next year, state media reported on Tuesday. 

China Asia-Pacific Mobile Telecommunications Satellite Company and another unnamed Chinese contractor have started production on the satellite, the Vientiane Times said.

It will be launched into an orbital slot of 128.5 degrees, the newspaper reported. Such slots are normally allocated by the International Telecommunications Union.

"Forty-two young Lao officials have just completed three months of initial training on satellite communications in preparation for the satellite's operation," said the government mouthpiece.

Laos signed a $250-million agreement in 2011 with the two Chinese contractors to build and launch the satellite, using a Chinese loan.

The satellite will relay data for television and telephone services as highlighted below:

Laos to launch first satellite in 2015

VIENTIANE — Chinese contractors will launch Laos' first satellite next year, state media reported on Tuesday. 

China Asia-Pacific Mobile Telecommunications Satellite Company and another unnamed Chinese contractor have started production on the satellite, the Vientiane Times said.

It will be launched into an orbital slot of 128.5 degrees, the newspaper reported. Such slots are normally allocated by the International Telecommunications Union.

Authorities To Hold Talks Over Delayed Rail Project

Lao authorities plan to hold talks with a foreign investor to discuss why they have yet to begin the US$5 billion Savan-Laobao rail project, a senior government official said.

The Lao government signed an agreement with the Malaysia-based company, Giant Consolidated Limited, in November 2012 to develop the 220km high-speed rail to link central Savannakhet province to Laobao on the Vietnam border.

The investor announced the project would begin in early 2013 with completion slated within the next four years, however significant action has yet to be taken to carry out the development.

The official, who does not wish to be named, said the relevant Lao authorities plan to meet with the investor in a move to push the project forward.

According to the agreement, the project will have a 50-year concession period and the train is expected to travel at speeds of up to 120km per hour.

It was reported that the rail project will be built using earthquake-resistant Chinese technology.

The contract to develop the rail project was signed at the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in Vientiane in November, 2012.

Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak witnessed the signing of the contract.

The main objective of the project is to facilitate goods transport in the region.

The project is part of a planned railway system that will link up the Southeast Asia region.

Savannakhet province is located on the East-West Corridor connecting Thailand, Laos and Vietnam via the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River and Road No. 9. The province is also located on the north-south arterial route Road No. 13, which runs from China to Cambodia through Laos.

The Savan-Laobao rail project will contribute to the government’s effort to turn Laos into a land-link nation and effectively become a transit hub for neighbouring countries. The Lao government is currently working with China to push for the construction of a planned US$7 billion rail project to link Vientiane to the Lao-Chinese border.

This rail will form part of the Asean-China rail link, which begins in Yunnan province, China and runs southwards towards Singapore through Laos and Thailand.

In addition to the Savan-Laobao rail project, many other investors have not taken action to implement projects following the government’s approval, notably mining projects

Authorities in charge, said they would seek approval from the Lao government, part of world government, to revoke the agreements of these mining projects if investors failed to carry them out within an appropriate amount of time.

On field progress report from Frank Firuz Zender:

"There is a miscommunication here. The company received a letter from the Ministry of Planning and Investment dated May 9 on May 28 requesting the company top submit the progress report and financial 'planning' for 2013-2014. The company had so far done all the survey works for the railway corridor, central alignments, level, crossings and bridges and town planning and architectural drawings. The initial alignment shown by the Department of Transport of Savannakhet needs a lot of changes since it goes through Army Camps, Factories and a cemetary. UXO clearance is being done now and so far just in the proposed Nasy Station, 9 UXOs have been found. GPS monuments have been erected from Savannakhet Station right up to Dan Savan (Lao Bao border town) where the train will end in Laos. For more info, you can contact me". - Frank Firuz Zender

The ASEAN railways links will be softly acquired by the ILLUMICORP, owned by the real Illuminati bloodlines, (see video at the end) to be integrated to the global power and transport grid as highlighted here:

http://www.seawapa.com/2014/05/NAWAPA-toolate-SEAWAPA-more-feasible.html


World government structures:

Authorities To Hold Talks Over Delayed Rail Project

Lao authorities plan to hold talks with a foreign investor to discuss why they have yet to begin the US$5 billion Savan-Laobao rail project, a senior government official said.

The Lao government signed an agreement with the Malaysia-based company, Giant Consolidated Limited, in November 2012 to develop the 220km high-speed rail to link central Savannakhet province to Laobao on the Vietnam border.

The investor announced the project would begin in early 2013 with completion slated within the next four years, however significant action has yet to be taken to carry out the development.

Laos Dams the Greenies; Launches Great Water and Rail Projects

$3.5 billion Xayaburi hydropower dam on the Mekong River, Laos

Nov. 15—The small, underdeveloped, underpopulated Southeast Asian country of Laos chose the most conspicuous moment possible to announce its decision to move into the modern developed world as quickly as possible. In conjunction with the Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM), in the Laotian capital of Vientiane in early November, Laos announced that it will proceed with the construction of three great projects: the controversial $3.5 billion Xayaburi hydropower dam on the Mekong River; the Chinese-funded $7 billion high-speed rail link from Vientiane, north into China; and the Malaysian-funded $5 billion East-West rail route that will link Thailand with Vietnam through the Lao panhandle.

The contrast with the rapidly accelerating collapse of the trans-Atlantic economies could not be more dramatic. The unfolding transformation of Laos—a country denied “normal” diplomatic recognition by the U.S. until 2004, as a leftover from the U.S. war on Indochina—is due to the united efforts of nearly all the Asian nations, which, unlike those in the West, still believe that development is more important than sustaining bankrupt speculators in the banking system.

The go-ahead on the Xayaburi Dam, announced in front of the 50 or so heads of state from Europe and Asia attending ASEM, was especially notable, given that most of the European notables were rabid haters of development. London’s environmentalist NGOs have waged a fierce battle internationally to sabotage the dam, and declared victory last December, when members of the Mekong River Commission’s council, consisting of water and environment ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, urged a delay to allow further environmental research.

In response, the Lao government and its chief partner in the project, Thailand’s CH. Karnchang Public Co. Ltd., engaged experts to examine the issues of fish migration up and down the Mekong, and the siltification of the waters behind the dam. The company then agreed to spend an additional $100 million to revamp the design of a fish ladder and sediment-flow gates meeting legitimate concerns.

“They have no more serious complaints on the redesign of the dam,” Viraphonh Viravong, Laos’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, said of Laos’s neighbors. “The Lao government is confident that with all these changes, there will be no serious environmental impact, and that’s why we’ve decided to go ahead.” “Xayaburi is a very good project,” Viraphonh continued. “The financing is there, and if we don’t go ahead what are we expected to do? Solar farming? It’s too expensive.”

Ninety percent of the power from this 1,280 megawatt dam, and much of the power from the other 10 planned Mekong dams for the river, will be sold to Thailand, which has a growing industrial base. However, the remaining 10% of power that Laos will retain for its own development is a great and important addition to its currently very limited power resources.

Within days of the Xayaburi announcement, Cambodia and Vietnam, both of which had initially opposed the dam for environmental reasons, gave their consent to the revised plan. Although both the Vietnamese ambassador to Laos, Ta Minh Chau, and the Cambodian ambassador to Laos, Yi Dan, attended the ground-breaking ceremony, the green Western press continues to emphasize the “opposition” to the project.

For example, the British intelligence outlet Asia Sentinel’s Nov. 14 edition writes that “three downstream governments—Vietnam, Cambodia and seven Thai provincial governments—have in particular objected to the construction of the Xayaburi Dam.” Next-door Thailand, which not only has a long-term contract for power from the dam, but is also financing and building.

by Ron Castonguay

Laos Dams the Greenies; Launches Great Water and Rail Projects

Nov. 15—The small, underdeveloped, underpopulated Southeast Asian country of Laos chose the most conspicuous moment possible to announce its decision to move into the modern developed world as quickly as possible. In conjunction with the Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM), in the Laotian capital of Vientiane in early November, Laos announced that it will proceed with the construction of three great projects: the controversial $3.5 billion Xayaburi hydropower dam on the Mekong River; the Chinese-funded $7 billion high-speed rail link from Vientiane, north into China; and the Malaysian-funded $5 billion East-West rail route that will link Thailand with Vietnam through the Lao panhandle.