International Rivers and Mekong Watch sent a letter on commercial operation of Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Lao PDR to the President of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank on March 26, 2010. We raised concerns to the banks that the Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) began operating the project on March 15, 2010 despite not having fulfilled key environmental and social conditions contained in the project’s Concession Agreement with the Lao government and the World Bank resettlement policy. Click here to read the letter.
On 29 March 2010, we sent a letter to a host of private banks that have signed onto the “Equator Principles”, a set of voluntary social and environmental guidelines, namely ANZ, BNP Paribas, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING Group, KBC, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered. Click here to view the letter to the private banks.
- Read the response from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (April 8, 2010).
- Read the International Rivers and Mekong Watch’s response to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (May 12, 2010).
- Read the letter from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to respond to the International Rivers and Mekong Watch’s letter (June 4, 2010).
More information
- Read International Rivers’ press release Laos’ Nam Theun 2 Dam Operation Illegal
- View a 9-min video about Nam Theun 2: “Risky Business“
- Read International Rivers’ September 2009 letter to the World Bank and the ADB specifying key issues to be addressed before commercial operation.
- Read International Rivers’ report Power Surge: The Impacts of Rapid Dam Development in Laos.