Laos to Break Ground on Don Sahong Dam in December

Laos said it will begin formal construction on the controversial Don Sahong dam on the Mekong River in December, vowing to proceed with the project transparently to assuage fears over its potential environmental impact.

Preparatory work on the 260-megawatt dam began in July last year, but full-scale construction will proceed “in the beginning of December,” Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Viraponh Viravong told the media during a tour of the project site.

“Work on a bridge and access roads are already under way,” Viraponh said.

“By the end of the year we will close the cofferdam [which allows water to be pumped out of the site] and will begin work on the Hou Sahong [channel],” he said.

The Don Sahong dam is to be located slightly more than 1 kilometer (0.75 mile) from the Lao-Cambodia border, will block the Hou Sahong channel—which environmental groups say is the only year-round channel for transboundary fish migration on the Mekong.

Viraponh said that contracts to purchase the electricity produced by the dam had already been signed, with the concession to Malaysian dam developer Mega First Berhad mapped out and sent to lawmakers for approval, and that a loan agreement would be completed by May.

The electricity generated by the project will be fully sold to the national power utility Electricite du Laos (EDL) to meet increased demand for domestic power, state media reported.

He expressed confidence that the project “will bring development to the local area,” claiming it would have little impact on the region because it is a spillover dam that does not require flooding for a large reservoir.

“The people of the area will have a new way of living,” he said.

Viraponh spoke during the second day of a tour of the site for more than 100 representatives of member countries of the Mekong River Commission (MRC)—an intergovernmental body which oversees development on the waterway—development partners, international nongovernmental organizations, and Lao and foreign media.

The two-day visit was organized by the Lao government and Mega First as part of a bid to demonstrate transparency for the project and to address concerns over its impact on the environment and on riparian communities who rely on the Mekong for their livelihood.

Environment groups, including International Rivers, had warned that the project—part of Laos’s plans to become the “battery” of Southeast Asia by selling electricity to its neighbors—“spells disaster” for fish migration on the Mekong and threatens regional food security.

On Wednesday, villagers who will be relocated to make way for the dam told members of the media that they do not oppose the project, but want Mega First to provide them with an alternative to fishing, which they currently rely on as a source of food and income.

“If there is no alternative livelihood for us, we villagers are likely to stand against the project,” one resident said on condition of anonymity.

He said that the developer should provide assistance and jobs that would allow them to draw an income comparable to what they earn from their traditional work catching fish.

Another villager said that officials previously visiting the area had explained to residents that the project would introduce new jobs, though it had been more than a month since they had heard any more information.

“On Jan. 27, they came to meet the villagers asking about our needs,” he said.

“They said that they would provide some sort of funding as assistance for us and that we would be able to pursue work in fields like animal husbandry, fish breeding, growing vegetables, or whatever we like.”

He said that he hoped the project developer would support them according to what they had been told during the January meeting, but expressed concern because there had been no follow-up discussions.

On Wednesday in Champassak province, ahead of the visit to the dam site, Viraphonh told the delegation that the government has demanded that developers conduct extensive research on all potential environmental and social impacts of proposed hydropower projects, according to a report by the state-run Vientiane Times.

“We insist that studies be done professionally and thoroughly by recognized international experts and that the resulting analysis and technical data be disseminated wholly and honestly with other qualified experts for discussion,” he said.

Viraponh said that the government would continue to welcome comments from MRC member countries, development partners and environmentalists so it can improve the project's final design and ensure its sustainability, according to the report.

Potential impacts

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said recently that blocking the Hou Sahong channel would cause “permanent damage” to the Mekong basin’s fishery resources, which it valued at between U.S. $1.4 billion and $3.9 billion per year.

The group contends that water quality, sediment flow, habitat degradation, and increased boat traffic brought on by the project, as well as explosives used in excavation, could decimate the Mekong’s remaining 85 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins.

It has called for suspension of the project “pending completion of independent, comprehensive and scientific trans-boundary studies,” adding that all additional studies should include transparent consultation with governments, civil society, and communities that would be affected by the proposed dam.

Laos’s announcement of plans to forge ahead with the Don Sahong in September 2013 also prompted objections from neighboring Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, which said not enough study had been done on the project’s downstream impact.

An impact assessment carried out by Mega First claims that fish will be able to use other channels to migrate and that the dam’s environmental and social effects will be mitigated, but critics say that the study is based on flawed information.

Weekend storms take heavy toll

A weekend storm surge that saw torrential downpours hit the capital had far more dire consequences outside of Phnom Penh, where hundreds of families were affected and at least one man was killed.

At least 675 homes in eight provinces were damaged in sudden thunderstorms that swept the country, officials said yesterday, with eight people injured during the downpours and heavy winds that first began on Thursday evening.The one confirmed fatality came when a tile was blown from the roof of a home in Banteay Meanchey province, striking a man on the head. He was pronounced dead at the provincial hospital and is thought to have suffered a heart attack as a result of the impact.

Of the nearly 700 homes damaged, at least 147 were completely destroyed, their roofs ripped to shreds and pillars collapsed. Elsewhere, a school’s roof was blown off, several phone aerials collapsed and a rice mill was destroyed.While Phnom Penh avoided much of the destruction wrought in other provinces, signs of the strength of the gales were all around, with a large tree on Sihanouk Boulevard left snapped like a twig on Saturday night, forcing drivers to navigate around the natural roadblock.

Keo Vy, National Committee for Disaster Management cabinet chief, said yesterday that the authorities, working closely with police forces and the Cambodian Red Cross, were busy helping to rebuild families’ homes.He added that the country had gotten off lightly this year, with last year’s dry-season storms wreaking far greater damage.“We cannot estimate the total storm damage this year yet, whether there are more or less, since it is a natural disaster,” he said.

“But last year, Cambodia was affected by storms from neighbouring countries, plus the monthly rain, which started in the middle of March in Cambodia. So, Cambodia suffered from many storms.”

Comparing the figures with last year’s storms, however, gives some reason for thanks.

In the first three months of last year, storms damaged more than 2,000 homes and destroyed 20 schools, with eight people killed by lightning strikes.

An updated figure for deaths from lightning strikes from last week’s storms was unavailable yesterday.Local authorities reported earlier last week that three people had died and four others been injured by lightning strikes so far this year.Ahead of the storm fronts’ arrival, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology warned people to batten down the hatches.Oum Ryna, director of the Department of Meteorology at the Ministry of Water Resources, said the worst was over, for now.

“It will not rain heavily anymore, not like last week. But it might rain heavily in some places, so people should be careful,” Ryna said.In Banteay Meanchey province, officials said life was beginning to return to normal.Chhun Buntha, of Banteay Meanchey provincial hall, said that 31 houses in the province had been completely destroyed, while about 270 had been badly damaged.

“The situation in Banteay Meanchey province right now is better,” he said.

Hundreds die each year in Cambodia from lightning storms, according to government figures.

A battle royal sparked

The government is threatening opposition leader Sam Rainsy with legal action, which could result in a year’s imprisonment, in response to a letter he wrote to King Norodom Sihamoni last week appearing to take issue with and criticise the King’s appraisal of parliament.In a statement released on Saturday, the government argues that Rainsy “insulted” the monarchy, tried to “incite” the King to violate the Constitution and could face a conviction for not respecting a Constitutional Council decision regarding the legal formation of the National Assembly. 

The Constitutional Council, which is in charge of “safeguarding” and interpreting the Constitution, is regulated by a law that stipulates penalties for anyone who “fails to respect” its decisions.

Rainsy has rejected the allegations but said in a statement that he could be made “liable to a harsh punishment given Cambodia’s politically subservient court”.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party has boycotted its 55 seats in the National Assembly since it opened in September.

Rainsy wrote to the King on April 2, saying he “would like to tell his majesty” that the parliament was formed with only ruling Cambodian People’s Party lawmakers present and was thus a “one-party parliament” not representative of all Cambodians.

He added that the Constitution requires 120 lawmakers to swear in for a new parliament to officially be formed, an interpretation that has previously been contested by a number of lawyers and analysts.

Rainsy’s letter was prompted by a congratulatory letter sent by King Sihamoni to the National Assembly for the opening of its second session last week, in which he said he hoped the parliament, which was “representative of all Khmer people”, would solve its problems by “sticking persistently to multiparty democracy”.

In its statement, the government strongly condemned Rainsy for issuing what it described as a “serious insult” to the King: “The Royal Government understands that Excellency Sam Rainsy’s allegation truly and strongly violates the King and is also an abuse of the principle of rule of law in Cambodia,” it said.

Rainsy was inciting the King to act against the constitution, amounting to a “constitutional coup”, in addition to failing to respect a Constitutional Council decision from July 2003 that decided 120 lawmakers are not needed to be present for the National Assembly to open, according to the statement.“So, this daring act of Excellency Sam Rainsy that does not respect the decision of the Constitutional Council could face [a] conviction according to Article 36 of the law on organisation and functioning of the constitutional council,” the government said. “The Royal Government will consider [taking] strict measures against [Sam Rainsy] to defend . . . the motto ‘Nation Religion King’ and the dignity of the nation.” 

Similar statements condemning Rainsy have also been released by numerous ministries, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Cambodian People’s Party.

Article 36 of the Law on the Organisation and the Functioning of the Constitutional Council states that “any person who fails to respect the decision of the Constitutional Council” could face up to a year in prison.

In a statement released on Saturday, Rainsy accused the CPP of “planning to use their Kangaroo Court again to silence their opponents”.“The CPP seems determined to punish me, because I dare continuously question the legitimacy of the Hun Sen government. But, as always, they are using a very poor pretext, not only the substance but also on the façade, because the letter I wrote to the King was a private one, like the countless letters that I used to write to the late and respected King Father Norodom Sihanouk,” he said. 

Oum Daravuth, chief of the King’s cabinet, declined to comment on the matter yesterday.

When reached yesterday, Rainsy said he had written to the King because he respected and loved him, in contrast to a “powerful person who threatened to eliminate the monarchy” in 2005. He added that he was unafraid of any threats made by the government.In an October 2005 speech broadcast on TVK, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had told Prince Norodom Ranariddh that if King Sihamoni did not sign off on a controversial border treaty with Vietnam, Cambodia should “reconsider whether we should keep the monarchy or change to a republic with a president instead”.

Son Soubert, privy counsellor to the King and an opposition party politician, said he did not think the government’s accusations had any basis.

“Mr Sam Rainsy just told the King what the truth is, and I don’t think he can be accused of inciting the King to do things that are not constitutional,” said Soubert, president of the Human Rights Party.

King Sihamoni, in contrast to his father, has preferred to stay out of politics. He presided over the opening of parliament in September last year despite hundreds of thousands of petitions asking him to delay the process due to the ongoing political deadlock, sparked by allegations of irregularities around the July election.

In Rainsy’s letter, he said that in the “same situation” following the 2003 election, Sihanouk had refused to preside over the opening of parliament.

Prominent lawyer Sok Sam Oeun yesterday said that there was no legal basis on which to convict Rainsy, because no such conviction is in the penal code.

Malaysia Flight 370: Mystery deepens as searchers race to trace sounds

Along with new signs that searchers could be nearing the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, a fresh mystery surfaced Sunday.The aircraft skirted Indonesian airspace as it went off the grid and veered off course, a senior Malaysian government source told CNN.The new analysis of the flight's path means the plane may have been taken along a route designed to avoid radar detection, the source said.

But why would someone steer the plane that way, and where is it now?

Those are key questions that investigators are trying to answer -- and fast.

The HMS Echo, a British navy ship equipped with advanced detection gear, sailed into the search area Monday morning (Sunday afternoon ET), hoping to home in on the place where a Chinese crew detected two audio signals.Investigators hope the pulses could be locator beacons from the plane's data recorders, but they're not sure yet.Time could be running out. It might be only a few hours or a few days before the pingers aboard the plane stop transmitting for good.

The batteries inside the beacons, which are designed to start sending signals when a plane crashes into water, last about 30 days after the devices are activated.That 30th day has come -- though experts have said it's possible that they could last several days longer if they were at their full strength. 

Plane said to have flown around Indonesia

As searchers tried to find the aircraft, investigators pieced together new details about the plane's path.

After reviewing radar track data from neighboring countries, officials have concluded that the passenger jet curved north of Indonesia before turning south toward the southern Indian Ocean, a senior Malaysian government source told CNN on Sunday.Whoever was flying the plane, the source said, could have been trying to avoid radar detection.

But why?

Like most details in the case that's baffled investigators ever since the plane dropped off Malaysian military radar on March 8, it depends on whom you ask.CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes cautioned against assuming a nefarious reason for steering the plane around Indonesia's airspace.

"I think the plane's being intentionally flown there, but I think it's still a mystery as to why. ... I think they would probably guess they're not avoiding anybody's radar, because there's a lot of radar in the area," he said. "I think they're avoiding getting shot down or colliding with another airplane."

CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien said the new route includes designated waypoints that pilots and air traffic controllers use.

"This particular route that is laid out happens to coincide with some of these named intersections," he said. "So what it shows is an experienced pilot somewhere in the mix on this."Investigators haven't yet said who they think might have flown the plane off course or why.The possibility that the plane was hijacked by someone who knew how to fly a commercial jet is still on the table. Authorities have also been investigating the plane's captain and co-pilot. And they haven't ruled out mechanical problems as a possible cause of the plane's diversion.So far, no physical evidence of the plane's eventual whereabouts has been found, leaving many relatives of those on board trapped in uncertainty.

Time is running out

The arrival of the Echo will be critical to the search for the missing Boeing 777 and the 239 people aboard. It has state-of-the-art sonar and is capable of mapping the ocean floor, which is about 4,500 meters (2.8 miles) deep in the focused search area.It should be able to help determine more confidently whether audio signals picked up on Friday and Saturday by the Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 have any connection to the pingers from MH370.But officials urged caution. In the lengthy search for the missing plane, promising discoveries nearly every day have fizzled out, with few facts to support them.

"This is an important and encouraging lead, but one that I urge you to continue to treat carefully," Angus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating search operations, said Sunday.

The Chinese said the electronic pulses -- detected only 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) apart -- were consistent with those emitted by pingers on an aircraft's black boxes, but search officials said they haven't been verified as coming from Flight 370.

Sounds travel long distances underwater, Houston said, making it difficult to ascertain their sources. If detectors were near a pinger, they would pick up the signal for a more sustained period.

Houston also said that search authorities were informed Sunday that the Ocean Shield, an Australian naval vessel equipped with sophisticated listening equipment, has detected "an acoustic noise" in another area of the ocean to the north.The signals are the latest leads in a huge, multinational hunt for Flight 370, which disappeared almost a month ago over Southeast Asia.

'Most promising lead'

The Ocean Shield, which has a high-tech pinger locator borrowed from the U.S. Navy, will continue to pursue the sound it heard. If that lead turns cold, it will move to the other detection area, a journey that will take at least a day, officials said.

"At the moment, the most promising lead appears to be the one associated with Haixun 01," Houston said at a news conference in Perth, the Western Australian city serving as a hub for search operations.

The pulses registered by the Chinese ship are of particular interest because they occurred in an area that fits with the latest calculation by experts of roughly where the plane is likely to have entered the water, Houston said.The area of detection is roughly 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) west-northwest of Perth, according to coordinates reported by Chinese state media.

Caution urged

Several analysts on CNN said the information from search officials gave cause for optimism.

"We've got to be a little careful about groupthink here, but right now the evidence seems to point towards the Chinese vessel's location," said Alan Diehl, a former accident investigator for the U.S. Air Force.What's more, white objects were spotted floating on the surface of the water about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from where the sounds were detected, authorities said.

But Houston warned that the latest discoveries could turn out to have no connection to the missing plane

.

"In the days, weeks and possibly months ahead, there may be leads such as the one I'm reporting to you this morning on a regular basis," Houston said.

"I assure that we will follow up and exhaust every credible lead that we receive," he said.

The Chinese vessel detected the second signal for a total of 90 seconds on Saturday, according to authorities.

"It's not a continuous transmission," Houston said. "If you get close to the device, we should be receiving it for a longer period of time."A former longtime Navy oceanographer said the Chinese equipment shown on TV didn't appear to be very sophisticated. Van Gurley told CNN that the gear was designed to be held by human divers and only had short-range capabilities.

"The fact that they're deploying it right over the side near the ocean surface, they're getting hits a mile apart, kind of doesn't add up -- but it does require investigation," said Gurley, now a senior manager at a consulting firm that uses complex mathematical methods to solve problems like finding a missing plane.Australian authorities are still working on understanding the technology used regarding the data generated by the Haixun 01 as it searches for the missing plane, a source with the Australian Defense Force told CNN.

Da Nang plans a greener future

 The central city of Da Nang will have a face-lift as it becomes a green city following the Prime Minister's decision on the city's adjusted master urban plan for 2030 and 2050.

The plan, which was officially announced on Saturday, will build Da Nang as a centre of sports, education, science and technology for the central and Central Highlands region.

Da Nang also plays a strategic role in defence and security for the south central area, the Central Highlands and the entire country, boosting the socio-economic development for the region.

"The adjusted urban plan will play a key role for strategic and sustainable development of the city and the central and the Central Highlands regions," said chairman of the city's People's Committee, Van Huu Chien."It's also a legal base and a driving force to call for more investment in the city and the central region," Chien noted.As planned, the city will include six inner districts and two suburban districts of Hoa Vang and Hoang Sa, with an expected population of 2.3 million.

The city will be built on 128,543ha, of which Hoang Sa (Paracel) islands are on 30,500ha.

The city, which was recognised as a First Class city in 2003, will develop a 130ha centre for finance, banking, trade and services in the downtown, and a 3,700ha coastal service area.

Under the adjusted plan, the city will develop public transport with 15 bus routes, eight Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and three metro routes, which aim to reduce carbon emissions, as well as address overcrowding and traffic congestion.The main route of the city's Bus Rapid Transit system will help connect Son Tra peninsula to the city's centre, Hoi An ancient town, My Son Sanctuary and the Ba Na Hills resort, along with industrial parks, university areas and tourist attractions.

Also, Da Nang Airports will be expanded to host 15 million passengers in 2030, while Tien Sa port will be upgraded to handle 5.5 million tonnes of cargo and 300,000 tourists per year, as well as new construction at Lien Chieu port.The plan also includes upgrading national highway No 1 and No 14G, as well as construction of new ring roads.

Further, the city will build a 100ha solid clean technology waste processing plant at Khanh Son dump to treat 2,000 tonnes of waste per day.The plan also includes the development of industrial parks on over 1,100ha and a 397ha centralised Information Technology park.Last year, the World Bank agreed to finance the Da Nang City Sustainable Development Project with US$272.1 million, of which $202.4 million will be funded by the World Bank.The American firm Rocky Lai & Associates Inc began construction of a 341-ha Da Nang IT Park as the largest ‘Silicon Valley' in the central region of Viet Nam, with a total investment of $278 million.The city plays an important role as a logistical centre for the coastal central region and the East-West Economic Corridor, which links Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

One killed, 28 wounded in Yala bombs

Col Pramote Prom-in, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command’s southern office, said the bombs went off at 3.50pm in the southern city in four locations. They were the Colesium intersection.They were the Colesium intersection in front of Racha Furniture shop, in front of an ATM at the electricity authority, in front of Fa Sai shop and at the entrance of Muang Mai Market in Muang district.

"There were four almost simultaneous explosions in Yala town," he said. "One of the devices was hidden in a car which was stolen a long time ago. The car had also been used for several robberies," he added.Yala General Hospital reported that one person died and 28 others were hurt. The dead victim was a male, the hospital added. Unconfirmed reports said he worked at Siridhorn College for Public Health in the southern province .

Officials gave conflicting accounts on the location of the car bomb. Col Pramote said it was hidden in a car parked in front of Fa Sai shop. Explosives in other locations were placed in motorcycles, he added.