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| Myanmar-Laos Border Mekong River |
Countries along the Mekong River may object because it could affect the Mekong River.
The military junta and Laos signed a joint exploratory agreement in Vientiane on July 4 to build a hydroelectric project with a capacity of up to 2,790 megawatts on the Mekong River, located on the Myanmar-Laos border.
The contract was agreed upon during the visit of the military-backed government's President U Min Aung Hlaing to Laos, and the Myanmar side's Primus Sapphire Power Company and the Lao side's Phongsupthavy Group Sole Company will work together to complete the project within 34 months (2 years and 10 months).
This is being done within the framework of Myanmar-Laos electricity sector cooperation, and the military-backed government says that once the project is completed, it will be able to provide electricity to the region from one location.
The current agreement is not yet a project implementation agreement but a feasibility study agreement, and the investment amount and environmental impact of the project have not been disclosed. Hydropower projects on the Mekong River have previously been the subject of disputes between regional countries over changes in river flow and environmental impacts.
A Myanmar analyst based in Thailand told RFA that while the project is feasible in terms of construction, it could face opposition from downstream countries due to concerns about the impact on the environment and ecosystem.
"China upstream has built hydroelectric power on this river, and Thailand downstream has built a dam in Laos, so the construction of the dam is possible. However, the other part, which affects the natural ecosystem, is the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which includes Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam downstream. I think there may be objections. The previous dams built by China upstream and the dam built by Thailand downstream have caused major natural disasters in the lower Mekong basin, so I don't think the MRC will allow the construction of this dam."
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an intergovernmental organization that includes Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam as full members, and China and Myanmar as consultative partners, and is engaged in discussions and negotiations on regional water resources management.
During U Min Aung Hlaing's three-day visit from July 3 to 5, in addition to the aforementioned agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tourism, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on establishing Nay Pyi Taw and Vientiane as sister cities, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in space technology were also signed.
