Transporting food aid to flooded areas in Laos after the dam
collapse (Photo: VNA)
The country’s Ministry of Interior has instructed all 76 provinces
to set up donation centers to receive cash or material donations which will be
sent to Attapeu where the Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam burst.
The ministry urged people to donate goods of good quality and will not break or
damage during the delivery process, saying that the shipments of the donated
goods will continue until the flooding situation in Laos improves.
Meanwhile, Thai company Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl, one of
the dam constructors, said in a statement that it had given an initial
assistance of 1.3 billion LAK (154,000 USD) to Laos.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) also provided relief
for about 3,000 Lao villagers displaced by the disaster. These items included
500 bottles of clean water, 500 survival kits and 2 million THB (59,000 USD) in
cash.
On July 25, Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha met with Lao
Ambassador Seng Soukhathivong to donate 5 million THB (147,000 USD) for the Lao
victims while a total of 1.4 million THB donated by Thai firms and people in
Laos has been also sent to the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
The Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam collapsed at 8:00pm on July 23, causing
massive flooding which completely isolated six villages in Sanamxay district of
Attapeu province.
Some 587 families with 3,060 people were reportedly made homeless, while more
than 100 people were still unaccounted for.
The 410 MW capacity hydropower plant is being constructed by the
Sepien-Senamnoi Power Company (PNPC), which is a joint-venture of SK
Engineering and Construction (SK E&C) and Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) from
the Republic of Korea, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding (RATCH) from
Thailand, and Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE).
Construction of the project, which is estimated to cost 1.02 billion USD, began
in February 2013 and commercial operations were expected to begin this year.
Source: VNA
Powered by ICT GROUP.
