Lao villagers brace for relocation as dam project starts

More than 2,100 people in Laos will be forcibly resettled due to the construction of  Mekong dam.

About 200,000 people will be affected.

"Given the Laos government's legacy of poor planning and uncompensated losses, the communities that will be forcibly resettled by the dam are likely to suffer greatly," Ame Trandem, a spokesperson for International Rivers.

Plans to dam the lower stretch of the Mekong, the world's 12th-largest river, have put Laos on a collision course with its neighbours and environmentalists, who fear livelihoods, fish species and farmland could be destroyed, undermining the food security of thousands.

China, which borders Laos, already operates four dams on the upper stretch of the river.
   
Thai contractor Ch Karnchang Plc. has promised some villagers near the dam it will build them homes, a school and a hospital, and give them $250 in one-time loans for purchasing livestock, according to villagers.