Economy and industry
Mekong Levels Reportedly Plummet Due to Chinese Dam Activity
Water levels on the Mekong River have fallen due to the filling of a Chinese dam on the upper reaches of the river in Yunnan province, according to locals and river monitors. The fall was reported on January 4, when locals in the Thai port town ...
Sebastian Strangio
China notifies Mekong River neighbours it is holding back waters
China has notified downstream neighbours it is holding back the Mekong River flow at a hydropower dam on the waterway’s upper reaches for 20 days, as part of a new data-sharing pact, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and Thailand said on Wednesday. The statements came a ...
Panu Wongcha-um, Kay Johnson
Epidemic Reconstruction Reveals Gambling and Trafficking of Migrant Workers are Major Sources of Ongoing COVID-19 Spread
As many as 45 provinces have been infected by the infection cluster first exploding among migrant workers communities in Samut Sakhon, while several more have been added to the list by the clusters involving gambling dens and local gambling such as cock fighting The disease control ...
B.Tribune
Construction of Long Thanh Airport Commences This WeekSaigoneer
The massive project in Dong Nai Province will relieve pressure on Tan Son Nhat once completed. Tuoi Tre reports that a groundbreaking ceremony for Long Thanh International Airport was held yesterday morning. The project’s first phase will cost US$4.6 billion and is expected to be completed in 2025. This ...
Saigoneer
VN builds expressway in Mekong Delta
An additional section to the HCMC-Mekong Delta expressway will cut travel time from the city to the region’s capital to just two hours. Work on the extended section, called the My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway, started Monday at Thuan An Commune in Binh Minh Town, Vinh Long ...
Cuu Long
Famous Tha Heua Fish Market Faces Abandonment Following Expressway Opening
Vang Vieng’s Tha Heua Market faces total abandonment after the expressway has caused motorists to bypass it when traveling to the resort town. According to a report by Vientiane Times, Tha Heua Market, popular with motorists entering Vang Vieng, is rapidly losing customers, with many vendors shutting down ...
Phayboune Thanabouasy
Lao Plan to Build Another Big Mekong Dam Dismays Villagers, Concerns Thais
Laos is preparing to build what will be its seventh of nine planned large-scale Mekong River mainstream dams, the latest project in its controversial economic strategy to become the “battery of Southeast Asia,” sources in the country told RFA. The 728-megawatt Phou Ngoy Dam, with a ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Analysis: Years in the making, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta policy takes the long view
Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is approximately the same size as the Netherlands — about 41,000 square kilometers (16,000 square miles) — and is home to 17 million people, very nearly the same population as the Netherlands. Perhaps that made dialogue easier. Unlike many foreign experts, the Dutch ...
David Brown
Watchdogs Call For Transparency as Cambodia Strikes Oil
Civil society organizations and Cambodia’s banned opposition party have called on the government to release detailed information about revenue it is earning from the petroleum industry, days after the country struck oil following a decades-long quest. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on social media ...
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Lao Dams Lower Water Levels on a Scenic River, Harming Tour Boat Operators and Other Local Businesses
Water levels lowered by seven dams along a stretch of the Nam Ou River in Laos are blocking boat travel in a scenic area popular with tourists, impacting tour and passenger boat operators and other local businesses, Lao sources say. Travel by water between Nong Khiaw ...
Reported by RFA’s Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney