{{Short description|Dam in Xayaburi, Laos}} {{Infobox dam | name = Xayaburi Dam | name_official = | image = | image_size = | image_caption = | image_alt = | location_map = Laos | location_map_size = | location_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|19|14|34.4|N|101|49|06.4|E|type:landmark_region:LA|display=inline,title}} | country = Laos | location = Xayaburi | status = O | construction_began = 2012 | opening = October 2019 | cost = US$3.8 billion | owner = Xayaburi Power Company Limited | dam_type = Run-of-river concrete barrage<ref name="XPCL-FF">{{cite web |title=Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Project: Fast Facts |url=http://www.xayaburi.com/Fast_Fact_eng.aspx |website=Xayaburi Power Company Ltd (XPCL) |access-date=25 July 2019 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106195214/http://www.xayaburi.com/Fast_Fact_eng.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> | dam_height = {{convert|32.6|m|abbr=on}} | dam_length = {{convert|820|m|abbr=on}} | dam_width_crest = | dam_width_base = | dam_volume = | dam_crosses = Mekong | spillway_count = | spillway_type = 10 x radial gates | spillway_capacity = {{convert|3980|m3/s|abbr=on}} | res_name = | res_capacity_total = {{convert|1.3|km3|acre.ft|abbr=on}}<ref name=damspec/> | res_catchment = {{convert|272000|km2|abbr=on}} | res_surface = {{convert|49|km2|abbr=on}} | res_max_depth = | plant_hydraulic_head = {{convert|18|m|abbr=on}} (rated) | res_tidal_range = | plant_operator = Xayaburi Power Company Limited | plant_commission = | plant_decommission = | plant_type = | plant_turbines = EDL: 1 × 60 MW<br>EGAT: 7 x 175 MW | plant_capacity = 1,285 MW<ref name=damspec/> | plant_annual_gen = 7,370 GWh | website = {{url|www.xayaburi.com/index_eng.aspx}} }}
The '''Xayaburi Dam''' is a run-of-river hydroelectric dam on the Lower Mekong River, approximately {{convert|30|km}} east of the town of Sainyabuli (Xayaburi) in northern Laos. Commercial operation of the dam started in October 2019.<ref name="BP-20190720">{{cite news |last1=Wipatayotin |first1=Apinya |title=Dam tests spark crisis |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1715627/dam-tests-spark-crisis |access-date=20 July 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=20 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/978185/ck-gets-b19bn-environmental-contract-for-xayaburi-dam|title=CK gets B19bn environmental contract for Xayaburi dam|date=18 May 2016|work=Bangkok Post|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> The main purpose of the dam is to produce hydroelectric power, 95% of which is to be purchased by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).<ref>{{cite news |title=Thai govt urged not to buy power from Laos dam |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-govt-urged-not-to-buy-power-from-laos-dam |access-date=27 July 2019 |work=The Straits Times |date=26 July 2019}}</ref> The project is surrounded in controversy due to complaints from downstream riparians and environmentalists. Preliminary construction began in early-2012, but work on the dam itself was suspended shortly thereafter due to complaints from Cambodia and Vietnam downstream.<ref>{{cite news|title=Construction forges ahead at Xayaburi Dam project|work=Bangkok Post|date=22 July 2012|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/303658/construction-forges-ahead-at-xayaburi-dam-project}}</ref> After making modifications to the dam's design, Laos started construction with a ceremony on 7 November 2012.<ref name="BBC Fisher">{{cite news|title=Laos approves Xayaburi 'mega' dam on Mekong|first=Jonah|last=Fisher|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=5 November 2012|access-date=6 November 2012|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20203072}}</ref> The Xayaburi Dam is the first of the 11 dams planned on the lower Mekong.<ref name=PE-20151130>{{cite news|title=Thai state agencies likely to get away with Xayaburi Dam construction|url=http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/5650|access-date=1 December 2015|work=Prachatai English|date=2015-11-30}}</ref>
==History== thumb|Site terrain thumb|Construction site
On 4 May 2007, the Lao government signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's CH. Karnchang Public Company Limited for the development of this hydropower project. The formal project development agreement followed in November 2008, and a feasibility study was conducted that same year by Swiss-based AF Colenco and Thai TEAM consultants. The environmental impact assessment was submitted in February 2010. In July 2010, a memorandum of understanding for power purchase was signed by EGAT and the Lao government.<ref name=ir-xayabury>{{cite book |title= The Xayaburi Dam — A Looming Threat To The Mekong River |url= http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/The%20Xayaburi%20Dam_Eng.pdf |publisher= International Rivers |date = January 2011 |access-date= 2011-02-06}}</ref>
According to the 1995 Mekong Agreement, the project is subject to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) ''Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation, and Agreement''. Under this agreement, the project's host country must notify the governments of the other signatories, namely Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Facts - Proposed Xayaburi Hydropower Project Prior Consultation Process |url=http://www.mrcmekong.org/news-and-events/consultations/proposed-xayaburi-hydropower-project-prior-consultation-process/ |website=Mekong River Commission |access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> The process was initiated in September 2010. It is the first project initiated through a regional decision-making process.<ref name=ir-xayabury/><ref name=vnn150111>{{cite news|title= The Mekong River's Pandora s box|url= http://www.vnnnews.net/the-mekong-rivers-pandora-s-box|publisher= VnnNews|date= 2011-01-15|first= Ame|last= Trandem|access-date= 2011-02-06|archive-date= 2011-01-17|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110117100244/http://www.vnnnews.net/the-mekong-rivers-pandora-s-box|url-status= dead}}</ref>
On 19 April 2011, the MRC Joint Committee announced that the MRC countries could not reach a consensus on how to proceed with the project, and agreed that a decision on the prior consultation process be tabled for consideration at the ministerial level.{{citation needed|date=July 2011}} However, in June 2011, the Laos Government gave the Thai developer CH. Karnchang the go-ahead to resume work on the Xayaburi Dam, informing the company that the Mekong River Commission's decision-making process was completed.<ref> {{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/laos-dam-idUSL3E7HN1L320110623 |title= Laos defies neighbours on dam project-environmentalists |first = Martin | last = Petty |work=Reuters |date=2011-06-23 |access-date = 2011-07-06}}</ref> Prashanth Parameswaran, a former researcher at the Project 2049 Institute, who is conducting research on dam projects in Southeast Asia, warned, "Laos' actions not only represent a breach of trust, but threaten to undermine already fledgling efforts at regional cooperation in an ecosystem that supports the livelihoods of tens of millions of people."<ref name="cfr">{{cite web |last=Kurlantzick |first=Joshua |date=2011-06-30 |title=In Southeast Asia, Big Dams Raise Big Concerns |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/southeast-asia-big-dams-raise-big-concerns |access-date=2011-07-06 |publisher=The Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref>
Dam construction began on 15 March 2012. CH. Karnchang announced on 17 April 2012 the signing of a 52 billion baht contract with the Xayaburi Power Company.<ref>{{cite web|title=Notification of Contract Signing With Xayaburi Power Company Limited. |url=http://www.ch-karnchang.co.th/news_activities_detail_en.php?nid=474 |publisher=CH.Karnchang |access-date=20 April 2012 |language=th |date=17 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509093107/http://www.ch-karnchang.co.th/news_activities_detail_en.php?nid=474 |archive-date=May 9, 2012 }}</ref> Preliminary construction (roads, bridges, support facilities) had accelerated in the prior few months.<ref>{{cite news|title=Xayaburi dam building pact signed|url=http://www.eco-business.com/news/xayaburi-dam-building-pact-signed/|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=Radio Free Asia|date=17 April 2012}}</ref> Cambodia's government immediately reacted to the announcement, threatening to take Laos to international court if they chose to build it unilaterally.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cambodia Warns Laos Over Mekong Dam|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/dam-04192012143244.html|access-date=20 April 2012|newspaper=RFA|date=19 April 2012}}</ref> Laos announced a halt to construction on 11 May 2012 due to complaints from neighbors and environmental groups.<ref>{{cite web|title=Laos halts Xayaburi dam work|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NE11Ae02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511025655/http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NE11Ae02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=11 May 2012|work=Asia Times|access-date=11 May 2012|date=11 May 2012}}</ref> Commercial operation of the dam started in October 2019.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Whong |first=Eugene |date=2019-10-29 |title=Laos’s Controversial Xayaburi Dam on Mekong River Begins Operations |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/xayaburi-dam-begins-operations-10292019175158.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805010611/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/xayaburi-dam-begins-operations-10292019175158.html |archive-date=2024-08-05 |access-date=2025-01-30 |work=Radio Free Asia |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Description== The Xayaburi Dam is on a site {{convert|350|km}} upstream of Vientiane and {{convert|770|km}} downstream of Jinhong, the last dam of a Chinese cascade of seven dams, including four existing and three planned dams. In terms of energy supply, it will be the third largest project among those considered for development on the mainstem in the Lower Mekong Basin.
The Xayaburi Dam is {{convert|820|m}} long and {{convert|32.6|m}} high with a rated hydraulic head of {{convert|18|m}}.<ref name=ir-xayabury/><ref name=team>{{cite conference |title=Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Project|url=http://www.mrcmekong.org/download/Presentations/sediment-monitoring/S4_TEAMConsulting_Sayaburi%20Hydroelectricity%20Project.pdf|website=Mekong River Commission|conference=The MRC Regional Workshop on Discharge and Sediment Monitoring and Geomorphological Tool for the Lower Tool for the Lower Mekong Basin|author1=TEAM Consulting Engineering |author2=Management Co., Ltd.|name-list-style=amp|date=2008-10-21|access-date=2011-02-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722070535/http://www.mrcmekong.org/download/Presentations/sediment-monitoring/S4_TEAMConsulting_Sayaburi%20Hydroelectricity%20Project.pdf|archive-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref><ref name=voa201210>{{cite news|title=Lao Dam Raises Alarm Among Conservationists|url=http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/Lao-Dam-Raises-Alarm-Among-Conservationists-112197779.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223100415/http://www.voanews.com/khmer-english/news/Lao-Dam-Raises-Alarm-Among-Conservationists-112197779.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-12-23 |website=VOA Khmer|first=Soeung|last=Sophat|date=2010-12-20|access-date=2011-02-06}}</ref> Sitting at the head of a {{convert|272000|km2}} catchment area, it will create a reservoir with {{convert|1.3|km3|acre.ft|abbr=on}} gross storage capacity and a surface area of {{convert|49|km2}}.<ref name=team/> The reservoir will reach {{convert|30|m}} in depth and stretch between {{convert|60|and|90|km}}. The dam features a navigation lock and two fish passes.<ref name=developer>{{cite web |url=http://www.xayaburi.com/bookflip.html |title=Feasibility Study, Xayaburi Hydroelectric Power Project, Lao PDR|author1=TEAM Consulting Engineering|author2=Management Co., Ltd., Colenco|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Xayaburi Power Company Limited |date=2012-01-16|access-date=2012-01-16|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829032636/http://www.xayaburi.com/bookflip.html |archive-date=August 29, 2011 }}</ref>
The power plant houses seven 175 MW Kaplan turbine-generators and one 60 MW Kaplan turbine generator.<ref name=damspec>{{cite web|title=Proposed Xayaburi Dam Project – Mekong River|url=http://www.mrcmekong.org/assets/Publications/Reports/PC-Proj-Review-Report-Xaiyaburi-24-3-11.pdf|work=Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA)|publisher=Mekong River Commission Secretariat|access-date=26 April 2012|date=24 March 2011}}</ref> The total installed capacity is 1,285 megawatts, with a total annual energy production of 7,406 GWh.<ref name=ir-xayabury/><ref name=team/> Around 95% of produced electricity (the seven 175 MW generators) would be exported to Thailand through a planned {{convert|200|km|adj=on}} long transmission line from the Xayaburi Dam to Loei Province in Thailand. The dam's construction was slated to take 96 months at a cost of approximately US$3.5 billion.<ref name=ir-xayabury/> It became operational on October 29, 2019.<ref name=":1" />
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is in doubt as to whether the dam will function in the long term because its reservoir may be filled with silt.<ref name=cfr/> A team of international sediment experts engaged by the MRC looked at this question and concluded that a proper sediment management plan and redesign of sediment passing structure will minimize sediment trapping. The developer stated it has accepted the MRC's conclusions and adopted its recommendations on sediment management.
==Developers, engineers, and financiers== The project is developed by Xayaburi Power Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Thai construction company CH. Karnchang Public Company Limited.<ref>{{cite web |last= |title=Company Overview of Xayaburi Power Company Limited |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=113025177 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808051830/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=113025177 |archive-date=August 8, 2014 |access-date=10 March 2013 |website=Bloomberg Businessweek}}</ref> Ch. Karnchang Public Company is also the leading contractor for the project. A syndicated loan of 80 billion Thai baht (US$2.67 billion at the March 2013 exchange rate) is provided by six Thai banks: Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, the government-owned Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, TISCO, and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank).<ref name=PE-20151130 /><ref>{{cite web|last=Banktrack|title=Dodgy Deal: Xayaburi dam project L|url=http://www.banktrack.org/manage/ajax/ems_dodgydeals/createPDF/xayaburi_dam_project|access-date=10 March 2013|archive-date=31 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231063419/http://www.banktrack.org/manage/ajax/ems_dodgydeals/createPDF/xayaburi_dam_project|url-status=dead}}</ref> Thailand’s electricity utility, EGAT, has agreed to purchase 95 percent of the dam's electricity.<ref name=IRN>{{cite web|last=International Rivers|title=Xayaburi Dam|url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/xayaburi-dam|access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref>
The engineering firm for the dam is the Finnish company Pöyry. Pöyry carried out a comparison between the original design of the dam and the recommendations of the Mekong River Commission, a body that brings together all riparian states of the lower Mekong and that has carried out a strategic environmental assessment for the impact of the planned cascade of dams on the Mekong. In that comparison, Pöyry recommended improving the sustainability of the dam "including additional environmental studies, installation of additional fish ladders and other measures to improve fish migration as well as technical design modifications to improve the sediment and nutrients handling." After this, Pöyry was contracted to modify the design and to supervise the dam's construction, without awaiting the results of the unspecified "additional environmental studies".<ref>{{cite web|last=Pöyry |title=Pöyry supervises the construction of the Xayaburi hydropower project as Government of Lao Engineer |url=http://www.poyry.com/news-events/news/poyry-supervises-construction-xayaburi-hydropower-project-government-lao-engineer |date=9 November 2012 |access-date=10 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104175827/http://www.poyry.com/news-events/news/poyry-supervises-construction-xayaburi-hydropower-project-government-lao-engineer |archive-date=January 4, 2015 }}</ref> Critics point out that analyzing the environmental impact of a dam inherently constitutes a conflict of interest with the more lucrative design and supervision of the dam. Pöyry stated and even guaranteed that the dam's environmental impacts could be mitigated, a statement for which it was severely criticized.<ref name="IRN Pöyry">{{cite web|last=International Rivers|title=Pöyry Responds on its Role in the Xayaburi Dam|url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/267/p%C3%B6yry-responds-on-its-role-in-the-xayaburi-dam|date=26 August 2012|access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref> The French engineering company Compagnie Nationale du Rhône(CNR) was hired to provide an independent "peer review" of the Pöyry findings related to hydrology, navigation, and, in particular, sediment transport. CNR recommended further studies "to improve the project".<ref>{{cite web|last=CNR Press Release|title=Xayaburi Dam Project:Clarifications by CNR|url=http://www.internationalrivers.org/files/attached-files/2012_08_02_press_release_cnr_xayaburi_dam_project.pdf|access-date=10 March 2013}}</ref> This was interpreted as CNR distancing itself from Pöyry's conclusions.<ref name="IRN Pöyry"/>
==Impact== According to International Rivers, the dam's construction would cause around 2,100 people to be resettled, and more than 202,000 people living in the dam's area would experience impacts due to the loss of agricultural land and riverbank gardens, bring an end to gold panning in the river, and provide less access to the forest resources of the Luang Prabang Range. The Xayaburi Dam would also have a significant effect on the biodiversity of the river ecosystem, and the fisheries within the larger Mekong River basin.<ref name=ir-xayabury/><ref name=vnn150111/> According to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, the Xayaburi Dam would drive the already critically endangered Mekong giant catfish (''Pangasianodon gigas'') to extinction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Substandard dam assessment opens way to fisheries destruction on Mekong| url=http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?200016/Substandard-dam-assessment-opens-way-to-fisheries-destruction-on-Mekong|type=Press release|website=World Wildlife Fund|access-date=31 May 2011}}</ref>
Because the Mekong is a complex ecosystem that hosts the most productive inland fisheries in the world, the stakes are high for the construction of such a dam. According to a study conducted by WWF and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and coordinated by the WorldFish Center, there are 229 fish species whose spawning and migratory patterns would be affected by a mainstream dam. This change in fish biodiversity and abundance would greatly affect the tens of millions of people in the Greater Mekong Sub-region who depend on the river for their food and livelihood. According to Phnom Penh-based WorldFish Center, this damage to fisheries "cannot be mitigated by fish passes and reservoirs".<ref name=IRIN250211>''IRIN News'' [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=92037 "Laos: Decision expected on controversial Mekong dam"], 25 February 2011</ref>
A strategic environmental assessment commissioned by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) recommends a 10-year deferral of all Mekong mainstream dams in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, and calls for further studies.<ref name=voa201210/> According to an MRC spokeswoman, construction of the Xayaburi Dam "will result in irreversible environmental impacts".<ref name=IRIN250211/> The MRC warns that if Xayaburi and subsequent schemes went ahead, it would "fundamentally undermine the abundance, productivity and diversity of the Mekong fish resources".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/mekong-ecology-in-the-balance-as-laos-quietly-begins-work-on-dam-2270082.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/mekong-ecology-in-the-balance-as-laos-quietly-begins-work-on-dam-2270082.html |archive-date=2022-05-07 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Mekong ecology in the balance as Laos quietly begins work on dam|work=The Independent|date= 20 April 2011|access-date=2011-04-20|location=London|first=Andrew|last=Buncombe}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Milton Osborne, Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy who has written widely on the Mekong, warns: "The future scenario is of the Mekong ceasing to be a bounteous source of fish and guarantor of agricultural richness, with the great river below China becoming little more than a series of unproductive lakes."<ref name="The Australian">{{cite news| url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/mekong-dam-plans-threatening-the-natural-order/story-e6frg6ux-1226083709322|title=Mekong dam plans threatening the natural order|work=The Australian|date=2011-06-29}}</ref>
None of the mitigation measures for fish and sediment passage included in the dam's current design have been tested at scale or in this environment. "Nowhere in the tropics has a successful fish passage been built for a dam the size of Xayaburi," said Dr. Eric Baran of the World Fish Centre in Phnom Penh. "It is unreasonable to assume that the proposed fish passage options will be efficient when they are neither based on successful experience in a similar context nor on a study of the local species."
Fish are a staple of the diet in Laos and Cambodia, with around 80% of the Cambodian population's annual protein intake coming from fish caught in the Mekong River system, with no alternative source to replace it. An MRC report claims that dam projects on the Mekong River will reduce aquatic life by 40% by 2020, and predicted that 80% of fish will be depleted by 2040. Thailand will be impacted, as its fish stocks in the Mekong will decline by 55%, Laos will be reduced by 50%, Cambodia by 35%, and Vietnam by 30%.<ref name="Nation-20180404">{{cite news|last1=Rujivanarom|first1=Pratch|title=Mekong River dams 'will harm food security'|url=https://www.nationthailand.com/detail/national/30342399|access-date=10 April 2018|work=The Nation|date=4 April 2018}}</ref> Dams would also restrict the flow of water over agricultural areas linked to the river.<ref name="BP-20190720" /><ref name="The Australian"/><ref name="BPO-20190720">{{cite news |title=Dam disaster on the way |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1715595/dam-disaster-on-the-way |access-date=20 July 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=20 July 2019 |department=Opinion}}</ref>
Record low water levels in the Mekong in July 2019, normally the rainy season, have led critics to point to the Xayaburi Dam as a contributor to the problem. Xayaburi Power counters that the facility is a run-of-river dam, so outflow from the 514 million cubic metre reservoir equals inflow.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wipatayotin |first1=Apinya |title=Xayaburi Dam in clear, says operator |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1720067/xayaburi-dam-in-clear-says-operator#cxrecs_s |access-date=28 July 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=28 July 2019}}</ref> The power company claims it cannot share the inflow and outflow levels of the dam as the information is classified in accordance with the company's Lao government contract.<ref>{{cite news |title=Xayaburi Dam partly to blame for Mekong Basin crisis: activists |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373621 |access-date=25 July 2019 |work=The Nation |date=25 July 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|33em}}
==External links== {{stack|{{Portal|Laos|Water|Renewable energy}}}} {{commons category|Xayaburi Dam}} * [http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/302492/mrc-nations-invited-to-visit-dam MRC nations invited to visit dam] * [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857411002199 Fish passage principles to be considered for medium and large dams: The case study of a fish passage concept for a hydroelectric power project on the Mekong mainstem in Laos]
{{Dams on Mekong River Basin}}
Category:Dams in the Mekong River Basin Category:Hydroelectric power stations in Laos Category:Dams in Laos Category:Dam controversies Category:Buildings and structures in Sainyabuli province Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 2019