Work progresses on Mekong dam?

Terra Daily via UPI: Construction is proceeding at the controversial proposed $3.8 billion Xayaburi Dam site on the Lower Mekong River in northern Laos, observers say, despite calls for the Laos government to put the project on hold until further studies are conducted into the dam's impact on lower Mekong communities.

About 95 percent of the dam's 1,260-megawatt capacity is intended for export to Thailand, which is financing the project. Thailand would operate the dam, turning it over to Laos after 30 years.

The Lower Mekong supports nearly 60 million people who depend on it for their livelihood, says the World Wildlife Fund.

While the Laos government says that only preparatory work on the dam has been conducted, the Bangkok Post reported that work is still under way at the site, including a dike straddling the Mekong River that locals say is obstructing the passage of boats....

The Mekong watershed, created by Karl Musser from USGS data, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license