Specific law on dam safety essential in Laos: energy minister

VIENTIANE (Xinhua): It is necessary to enact a specific law to ensure the safety of dams, as part of the Lao government's efforts to achieve sustainable energy development, according to the Lao minister of energy and mines.

Addressing the National Assembly on Thursday, Minister of Energy and Mines Daovong Phonekeo (pic) said there are regulations and guidelines in place governing the construction and operation of hydropower plants, but there is no law that specifically relates to safety measures.

The lack of a law in relation to dam safety management hinders the standardized inspection of dams to prevent accidents, he said, quoted by the local daily Vientiane Times on Friday (June 10).

Inadequate and inefficient inspection procedures carry risks and this issue should be rectified, he said.

All fields of development, including the construction of dams, need to be better regulated through rigorous law enforcement, while greater capacity is especially needed with respect to dam safety and inspections, he said.

The ministry has been working to strengthen management to ensure sustainable development of hydropower, in the wake of the disastrous collapse of a dam in the southern Attapeu province in 2018.

The collapse of the dam at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant, 560 km southeast of the capital Vientiane, caused a flash flood that wiped out five villages downstream, leaving more than 4,000 people homeless. Several other villages and their inhabitants were also affected.