LOCATION: Laos
RELATIONSHIP: RATCH Group owns 25% of Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Co., Ltd. (PNPC), which runs the project. It is also the project’s construction supervisor.

IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS

On July 23, 2018, the collapse of the saddle dam D of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in southern Laos unleashed millions of tonnes of water, devastating villages. The catastrophe claimed the lives of at least 70 people, left dozens missing and thousands homeless, and caused extensive damage to crops and property as far as 80 kilometers away in northern Cambodia.

An investigation by the Lao government found that the dam collapse occurred due to construction flaws. However, the report was never made available to the public and the project developers denied responsibility. For years no one was held accountable. Civil society groups wrote to RATCH on multiple occasions in 2019, 2020, and 2022 seeking information and dialogue regarding reparations for the survivors, but RATCH did not respond to any correspondence. This is despite its stated commitment to transparent stakeholder engagement as recipient of international development finance from the International Finance Corporation of the Asian Development Bank.

Prior to the dam collapse, the project was already facing opposition from local communities and civil society, including allegations that the public consultation process and impact assessments had been inadequate, and that people in resettlement areas who were displaced by the initial construction of the dam did not have adequate access to food, water, and land. The Save the Mekong coalition reported that even before the collapse, diversion of water to the dam’s reservoir had destroyed local fisheries and affected people had not been compensated for the loss of their livelihoods.

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT AND BIODIVERSITY

According to media reporting, the project had already caused significant environmental damage before the dam’s collapse. The altered water flow led to hydrological shifts and poorer water quality, harming local fisheries. Additionally, the Xe Pian National Protected Area suffered ecological harm from the project. The dam’s collapse reportedlyreportedly caused widespread deforestation.

RESOURCES

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