Local communities who will be affected by the Lower Sesan 2 dam have worked very hard to advocate within their own government and developer for canceling the project at all level, nationally and internationally but still could not have significant solution or results as they are now still complains or concerning about this large hydropower dam.
Under the Cooperation between 3SPN, a local NGO base in Banlung town, Ratanakiri Province, Cambodian and Mekong Watch has established an updated information a Fact Sheet of Lower Sesan II dam in the aim to share to the public for more understanding and attention on on the project.
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| Sesan river in Sreko village |
Wild Piggy would like to share all readers an update information about this Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam project.
What is Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam Project?
The Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) Hydropower Project will be located on the Sesan River in Sesan District, Stung Treng Province, Cambodia, 1.5km downstream from its confluence with the Srepok River and 25km from where the two rivers meet the Mekong River mainstream. The project was approved by Cambodia's Cabinet in November 2012, despite its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report failing to meet international best practice.
Basic features of LS2
Installed capacity: 400MW
Height: 75m
Length: 6km
Reservoir size: 33,560ha
Estimated cost: 781 million USD
The Lower Sesan 2 hydropower dam is a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project. The project’s construction is expected to take five years. After 40 years of operation, its ownership will be transferred to RGC. According to the government’s announcement, generated power will be sold to the Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), but it may still be exported to Vietnam.
Who is the developer?
The Hydropower Lower Sesan 2 Company is a joint venture between Cambodia’s Royal Group and China’s Hydrolancang International Energy (90%)and EVN International Joint Stock Company (EVNI), a subsidiary of the Electricity of Vietnam(EVN) (10%)
The Hydropower Lower Sesan 2 Company's capital (30%) and an undisclosed bank loan (70%), most likely from China.
What impacts will Lower Sesan 2 dam affect to local communities?
Although technically a tributary dam, LS2, if built, will have significant negative impacts on the fisheries and biodiversity of the entire Lower Mekong Basin. A 2012 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points out that the dam will cause a 9.3% drop in fish stocks basin-wide, putting more than 50 fish species into extinction. Experts have also warned that LS2 will contribute to the changing of hydrology of the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake, as well as reducing sediment flows by approximately 6.0 to 8.0%. The dam will have the largest impact on fish biomass amongst planned tributary dams in the Lower Mekong Basin. Its impacts will be felt as far downstream as the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and as far upstream as Laos and Thailand.
Tens of thousands of villagers living along the Mekong River, as well as its tributaries, will experience negative impacts on their livelihoods, food security, and lives because of LS2.
For more detail View LS2 Fact sheet in various languages, please go to website of Mekong Wach or 3SPN or clink on the link bottom for fact sheet directly
Fact Sheet of Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower dam in Khmer, English and Vietnamese
Other relevant Reports
Baird, Ian G. 2009. Best Practices in Compensation and Resettlement for Large Dams:
Vicheka S. 2012. Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Dam: Current Livelihoods of Local Communities (A Baseline Study). The NGO Forum of Cambodia.
Ziv, G., Baran, E., Nam, S., Rodríguez-Iturbe, I., and Levin, S. 2012. “Trading-off Fish Biodiversity, Food Security and Hydropower in the Mekong River Basin,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Related Links:
3S (Sesan-Srepok-Sekong) Rivers Protection Network (3SPN) www.3spn.org
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