Statement by Rivers Coalition of Cambodia in Response to Don Sahong Dam Concession Agreement

Date: 
Friday, September 18, 2015

On September 18, 2015, The Rivers Coalition of Cambodia issued a statement expressing disappointment over the approval of the concession agreement for the Don Sahong Dam. 

The statement reads:

The approval of the concession agreement was made while the requests made by the Governments, communities of the lower Mekong and civil societies of the three countries members of Mekong River Commission (Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand) have yet to be meaningfully responded to and/or resolved, according to the Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA) for the proposed Don Sahong Hydropower Dam held in December 12, 2014 and the Formal Reply Forms of the Governments of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand submitted in early 2015. Furthermore, the Lao Government does not abide by the spirit of the meeting held in June 19, 2015 in which the four members of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam have agreed that a decision on the prior consultation of the proposed Don Sahong Hydropower Project be taken to the governmental level because they could not come to a common conclusion on how to proceed with the project.

Once again, we continue to insist for the following requests:

  1. Immediately stop all activities related to the construction of the Don Sahong Dam; 

  2. Not to approve a Power Purchasing Agreement until all stakeholders’ requests have been addressed; 

  3. No further project contracts should be signed, including the dam's Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Agreement; 

  4. Conduct a Trans-boundary Environmental Impact Assessment by an independent consultant with the comprehensive participation of stakeholders (communities to be affected and civil society organizations); 

  5. Encourage debates, solutions, and agreements to all stakeholders’ requests and concerns in a responsible manner; 

  6. All Government members of the Mekong River Commission need to put more pressure in all forms on the Lao Government, which has made the unilateral decision.