Board to discuss NT2 proposal in a few months.
On September 24, the World Bank ended its final public consultative workshop in Vientiane on the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Laos. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank session was the last of the series that covered Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris and Washington to canvas all stakeholders ahead of the bank’s decision in May on whether to back the project.
In order to grant financial support to the project, the World Bank requires the Laotian government to ensure transparency in revenue management, so that funds would be allocated for poverty eradication, environmental protection and reduction of social destruction in dam-affected areas. The project is expected to generate US$1.8 billion from exporting electricity to Thailand over the 25 years of the purchase contract. This figure is being contested by civil society organizations, who believe the project should not be supported by the World Bank.
Ian Porter, the Country Director for the World Bank, said all tasks were expected to be wrapped up and proposed to the Bank’s Board in a few months.