The Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy project is now operational and exporting electricity to Thailand. The dam collapse prompted only a brief delay in the project construction, with project developers pushing forward to reassure their shareholders, meet contractual obligations, and start generating revenues by the first quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, thousands of people who lost family members, homes, land and livelihoods in the tragedy remain in difficult conditions and without answers or accountability from those responsible for the disaster. Displaced families continue to reside in temporary housing and face food shortages and inconsistent access to water. Many are yet to receive full compensation for the losses and harm suffered. Across the border in Cambodia, where the floodwaters from the collapse affected thousands of people and destroyed homes and property, there has been no official recognition of the damage or compensation provided to those affected.

“It is unconscionable that the survivors of the dam collapse still face such hardship and uncertainty over their future” says Maureen Harris, Programs Director at International Rivers. “The compensation for survivors must be sufficient to cover all losses and harms, and include a credible claims process to fully restore the livelihoods of the affected people. The process should be culturally appropriate and include protection against reprisals.”

Information surrounding the causes of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy disaster remains opaque. The Lao government-commissioned independent expert report pointed to construction problems as prompting the collapse. The project developers have denied the report’s findings but have been unable to offer any other evidence-based explanation. The project’s current operations, and lack of information about structural changes or material reinforcements, also raise concerns about the safety of the structure and the threat of another failure.

“Although the failed Saddle Dam ‘D’ has been replaced, the equally unstable Saddle Dams E and F have not been replaced as of mid 2020, with no explanation from the power company or Lao authorities, says Richard Meehan, a dam safety expert and lecturer at Stanford University. “It is not likely that the project can be safely operated until this is done.”

In addition, little information is publicly available regarding the project’s insurance payout, expenditure of donations and humanitarian relief funds, the ways compensation is determined and allocated and the provision of land and new housing.

“Thailand’s national action plan on business and human rights calls for Thai companies to respect human rights wherever they operate”, says Phairin Sohsai, Thailand Campaigner at International Rivers. “Thai investors and financiers must act transparently and disclose information about the remedial process.”

Civil society organizations monitoring the dam collapse have repeatedly sought to engage the business stakeholders involved in the project, including project developers, investors, financiers and insurers, seeking responses to letters, invitations to dialogue, and in person submissions to headquarter offices. Limited response has been received to date. Letters from several UN human rights experts to the governments of Laos, Korea and Thailand and business actors and financiers involved in the project in April 2020, urging them to address ongoing human rights violations experienced by the survivors of the dam collapse, have also gone largely unanswered.

“We urge the project’s developers and financial backers to be accountable for the losses and injustice by engaging meaningfully with affected communities and concerned members of civil society” says Yuka Kiguchi, Director of Mekong Watch. “Time-bound commitments and transparent allocation of funds are needed to show they will fully support people in restoring and sustaining a dignified future.”

Additional Information
On 23 July 2018, an auxiliary dam of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Project in Laos’ Champasak province collapsed, unleashing a wall of water that left 49 dead and 22 missing. The floodwaters displaced thousands of people, inundating homes and villages. Over 7,000 people in 19 villages in downstream Attapeu province experienced immediate loss and long-term damage to their houses, property, and farmlands. The floodwaters from the dam collapse flowed into the Sekong River and across the border into Cambodia, where an estimated 15,000 people were also affected by damage to homes and farms, loss of property and livestock.

Fact Sheet – XPXN Dam Collapse Two Years On

Information about the Lao dam collapse and its tragic aftermath is documented in the report by International Rivers and Inclusive development International, Reckless Endangerment: Assessing Responsibility for the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam Collapse.

NEW video from Mekong Watch: 2 Years After the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam Collapse: http://youtu.be/vDbmBf5o5jo]

Click here to download the press release.

More information is available here.

The post Two Years After Lao Dam Collapse: The Call for Justice Persists appeared first on Inclusive Development International.

“Thousands of survivors lost everything and continue to face uncertainty and neglect,” the statement from the experts read. “Governments, as well as companies and banks, stand to profit handsomely from the hydropower project, yet communities who lost everything have received only broken promises.”

In July 2018, the hydropower dam in southern Laos collapsed, destroying 13 villages, killing 71 people and displacing at least 7,000 more. The government promised survivors compensation and land where they could rebuild their lives, but two years later, many residents are either still living in relocation centers or have abandoned them as conditions deteriorate.

Radio Free Asia spoke with survivors at a number of relocation centers in late April, many of whom described uninhabitable conditions.

“The shelter is uninhabitable because it’s too hot, it’s dirty, it smells, and has no access to water,” one woman said. “We’re all scared that we might catch some disease.”

“Another problem is that the rice is rotten,” said another local resident living in a relocation center. “Now they are saying that our rice might smell a little but it is still edible…We have no choice but to eat [rotten] rice like prisoners. Many people sell the rotten rice to the brewery to buy better and more expensive rice [in smaller amounts].”

COMPENSATION DELAYED

The Lao government has largely acknowledged the shortcomings in the recovery efforts, promising to do what it can to improve conditions and ensure compensation. But as the country struggles to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and address its impacts, the government has few resources to spare.

“Community members, including indigenous peoples, have yet to receive adequate compensation and remain in substandard temporary housing with little privacy and inadequate access to food, water, medical supplies, sanitation and land,” the UN experts said of the situation. “People reportedly have not been meaningfully consulted about relocation or provided with a timeline.

Last year, the government allocated a 20-by-40-meter plot of land to many survivors and announced plans to build houses on the plots but as of April, only 36 homes have been constructed.

The district chief of Sanamxay, where some of those relocated are living, told Radio Free Asia that survivors will likely not receive the rest of the compensation they have been promised until after the COVID-19 pandemic “is over.”

THE UN CALLS ON DAM DEVELOPERS, GOVERNMENTS TO FOLLOW THROUGH

The UN experts called on the businesses involved in the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam to do more to provide compensation for the people impacted by the disaster and to ensure their rights are respected.

The hydropower project was a joint venture by South Korean companies Korea Western Power and SK Engineering & Construction, Thai firm Ratchaburi and Lao Holding State Enterprise. The US$1 billion dam also had financial backing from the Export-Import Bank of Korea and four Thai banks—Krung Thai Bank, the Bank of Ayudhya, Thanachart Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand.

“It is absolutely outrageous that so little has been done, despite government assurances and the deep pockets of the investors involved,” the UN experts wrote this week.

Photo: Laos Dam Investment Monitor READ FULL ARTICLE ▶

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(Bangkok) – One year after the devastating collapse of saddle dam D of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in southern Laos, none of the entities backing and profiting from the project have been held accountable, according to a joint report released today by International Rivers and Inclusive Development International.

“Reckless Endangerment: Assessing Responsibility for the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam Collapse” identifies the governments, corporations, banks and insurers that have backed the $1.02 billion project. The report sets out the responsibilities of these entities – from Korea, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the United States – to ensure that the victims receive a fair and just remedy, as required under international human rights law.

The collapse on July 23, 2018, unleashed a wall of water that killed an estimated 71 people, displaced some 7,000, and damaged the homes and property of thousands more across the border in Cambodia. Nearly 5,000 Lao villagers made homeless by the disaster continue to live hand to mouth in squalid camps, their futures uncertain, according to field research conducted for the report. Survivors of the disaster are yet to receive any compensation for their lost villages, homes, land and property.

“We miss our homes, we miss our loved ones, and know we have lost everything. My body is tired. My mind is tired. I don’t know who will take responsibility for our loss,” said a woman who was swept away by the floodwaters and is now struggling to cope with the living conditions at the temporary camp.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the dam’s lead developer and builder, the Korean firm SK Engineering & Construction, may have caused the collapse. A Lao government-commissioned investigation has ruled out force majeure, or an unforeseeable “act of god,” as the cause of the disaster. A Stanford University researcher found that the dam’s reservoir was built on a sinkhole, while a document revealed by the Korean media indicates that SK Engineering & Construction lowered the height of the dam walls in order to save money and maximize profit.

The report reveals that the dam’s developers took out $50 million in liability insurance that affected people may be entitled to claim. This insurance is provided by the U.S. firm AIG and the Korean insurers Samsung Fire & Marine and Korean Re. Inclusive Development International and International Rivers are calling upon the developers and insurers to establish a compensation fund and claims process that is appropriate for Laos, which is a politically restrictive environment and lacks an independent and effective judicial system.

“It is outrageous that one year after the dam collapsed and unleashed so much destruction and suffering, the victims have still not been compensated. Meanwhile, there’s a $50 million pot of liability insurance that should be used for this exact purpose,” said David Pred, Executive Director of Inclusive Development International. “Each and every one of the State and corporate actors named in our report that enabled this disaster have a responsibility to repair the harm and help the affected families rebuild their lives.”

The joint venture that is developing the dam is composed of SK Engineering & Construction, Korea Western Power Company, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding of Thailand, and the Lao government-owned Lao State Holding Enterprise. Ratchaburi was also the project’s construction supervisor, making it responsible for oversight of SK Engineering & Construction’s work. Four Thai banks provided approximately $714 million to finance the project: Krung Thai Bank, Ayudhya Bank, Thanachart Bank and the Thai government’s Export-Import Bank of Thailand.

Construction of the 410-megawatt Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy project was 90% complete when one of the five auxiliary dams that reinforce the dam’s reservoir collapsed. Work on the project is reportedly again underway, despite ongoing safety concerns. 90% of the electricity generated by the project is intended for sale to Thailand.

The project is one of 352 hydropower dams under construction or planned for development in Laos, as the government seeks to transform the country’s economy through extensive hydropower development for export to neighboring countries. Scientists warn that these projects will cause enormous damage to the region’s rivers and ecosystems – and the people who depend on them for food and livelihoods.

“The dam collapse and its aftermath expose in stark terms the way in which projects like Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy are developed to benefit the companies that build and finance them, at the expense of the local people placed in harm’s way” said Maureen Harris, Southeast Asia Program Director at International Rivers. “This tragedy demands an end to business-as-usual and a commitment to building a development model that is just and sustainable for all.”

Download the full report

WWW.XPXNACCOUNTABILITY.NET

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