Vientiane Times, 13 August 2014, by Times Reporters

Dr Khammany lnthilath (sixth from left) poses with officials from Don Sahong Hydropower Project in Champassak province last weekend.

A group of energy officials visited the planned construction site of the Don Sahong Hydropower Project in the southern province of Champassak last weekend to observe the progress of the mega investment project.

The visit, led by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthilath, was made after the government agreed last month to hold a prior consultation?? with Mekong River Commission member countries on the project before kicking off construction of the second Mekong hydropower plant in the lower Mekong basin.

The prior consultation is expected to take about six months to complete,?? according to officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

In 20 13, Laos sent notification to MRC member countries on the development of Don Sahong dam project in accordance with the 1995 MRC Agreement. But the Mekong nations requested the Lao govemment to hold prior consultation so that they cm voice their concerns on the?? perceived impacts of the dam.

The visit by the energy delegation which also included Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Mr Viraphonh Viravong and other senior energy officials also aimed to leam about the results of the recent research on fish migration in the re4 which has been raised as a concern by environmentalists.

A number of environmentalists have expressed concerns that the mnstruction of a dam on the Hou Sahong channel will prevent fish from?? migrating upriver in the dry season.

Representative of the visiting delegation, Mr Viraphonh Viravong, told media that the reason Laos agreed to hold prior consultations in?? relation to the hydropower project was to keep the Mekong cooperation spirit alive.

The decision also aimed to make development of the power plant more transparent under the spirit of the Mekong cooperation Agreement.

The project developers said that the company had conducted studies professionally and thoroughly, adding that results of the studies had?? been widely disseminated by the sectors concerned.

According to the studies, the power plant will be located at Hou Sahong, one of several Mekong chmels in the Khone Falls region. The Hou?? Sahong channel accounts for average natural water flow equivalent to only 5 percent of the Mekong as a whole.

One of the major project developers explained that the Hou Sahong channel is not the only one used by fish to migrate upstrem in the dry season. Developers are working with villagers to improve fish migration pathways in several other Mekong channels.

The government has allowed a Malaysian firm to conduct a foasibility study of the hydropower project since 2006.

The 256 MW hydropower plant will supply energy to the Electricite du Laos (EDL) grid for Champassak and surrounding provinces amid rising demand for electricity due to ongoing economic growth. The region is fast becoming a hub of economic development in the south of?? Laos.