Construction on the Xayaburi Dam began in late 2010 despite a lack of agreement between all four lower Mekong countries and failure of the regional consultation process, under the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The project is being built by Ch. Karnchang, one of Thailand’s largest construction companies. It is being financed by six Thai commercial banks and Thailand’s electricity utility, EGAT, has agreed to purchase 95% of the dam’s electricity. Energy experts in Thailand have concluded that Thailand does not need the dam’s electricity to meet its growing energy demand. However, the dam is expected to bring enormous profits to these companies and the Lao Government. The Xayaburi Dam will irreversibly alter the complex and rich ecosystem of the Mekong River with severe consequences to food and livelihood security throughout the region. The project has progressed amid strong criticism from downstream governments in Cambodia and Vietnam, along with local riparian communities and concerned citizen throughout the region. As the first dam under construction on the lower Mekong mainstream, the project sets a dangerous precedent for the future of dam-building on the Mekong River.
Several mega-schemes to build dams on the lower Mekong River's mainstream were first proposed in the 1950s. Over the next few decades these plans were revived in different forms, but war and instability within the Mekong region made the proposals impossible.
The Mekong Secretariat revived plans to build dams on the Mekong mainstream in 1994. However these plans were shelved due to strong public opposition.
The Governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signed an Agreement on the Cooperation For the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin, known as the 1995 Mekong Agreement. The Mekong River Commission was established as the institutional mechanism within the Mekong Agreement. Under the Agreement's Procedures, projects located on the mainstream of the Mekong River are expected to undergo a six month regional decision-making process called Prior Consultation.
Plans to build the Xayaburi Dam - the first dam on the Lower Mekong mainstream, advance with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Laos and the project’s lead developer, Thailand’s Ch. Karnchang Company, to study and develop the project.
The MRC convenes a stakeholder consultation on the Mekong mainstream dams and fishery mitigation techniques amongst 14 of the world's top fishery experts.The experts conclude that no fish passage technology exists that can handle Mekong River fish migration due to the large diversity of species and large number of fish migrating at any time of the year.
The MRC commissions a Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (SEA) of the Lower Mekong Basin, to assess the wider economic, social and environmental implications of proposed hydropower projects. The study was led by the International Center for Environmental Management (ICEM).
Thai company, Team Consulting and Swiss company, Colenco complete the Xayaburi Dam’s feasibility study for Ch. Karnchang Company.
Ch. Karnchang establishes the Xayaburi Power Company Limited as the project company and retains majority ownership. Other companies involved as shareholders include Natee Synergy Company Limited, PTT International Company Limited (PTT), Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO), P.T. Construction & Irrigation Company Limited.
The Xayaburi Dam’s environmental and social impact assessments are approved, despite widespread criticism from experts in the region regarding the poor quality of the assessments. Among other concerns, the assessments examined impacts only 10 km downstream from the dam site and no transboundary impact assessment was carried out.
The Government of Laos submits the Xayaburi Dam for Prior Consultation under the MRC's “Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement” (PNPCA) required by the 1995 Mekong Agreement and facilitated by the Mekong River Commission. Documentation submitted to the MRC and member countries included the feasibility study, environmental and social impact assessments, but no assessment of the dam’s potential transboundary impacts. The Xayaburi Dam was the first lower-Mekong mainstream dam to be submitted for regional consultation, and as such the first test of the PNPCA process.
