KOICA grants US$11 million for Nam Ngum River basin project

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has agreed to provide a grant of US$11 million for a project to establish an effective water resources management system and enhance disaster response capabilities for the Nam Ngum River basin.
According to the KOICA Office in Laos, the project will run from 2020-2025.
A record of discussion was signed on Monday by Resident Representative of KOICA Office in Laos, Mrs Jeonghee Im; Director General of Energy Department at Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Bouathep Malaytham and Director General of Planning and Finance Department at Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Phouvong Luangxaysana.

The signing ceremony was also attended by the Korean Ambassador to Laos, Mr Shin Sung-soon; Minister of Energy and Mines; Mr Khammany Inthirath and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr Sommad Pholsena.
The Nam Ngum River basin is one of Laos’ major catchments, accounting for about 44 percent of the nation’s total hydropower through dams built in the catchment area.
KOICA implemented a project to create an integrated water resource management master plan for the Nam Ngum River basin from 2016 to 2019 and enhance disaster response capabilities. As a follow-up project, KOICA started the first steps to build an integrated water resource management system in Laos.
Through this project, KOICA will establish a water management system for the Nam Ngum River basin, the fourth largest in Laos, as well as an environment for flood forecasting and alerting, and plan for the rapid spread of situation and emergency evacuation information in case of floods and droughts.
In addition to technical support, the project will strengthen the overall capacity of various stakeholders, such as water-related agencies, residents and civil society organisations in Laos, to manage water resources and respond to disasters, and establish and operate the water management governance council model. Also, simulated drills will be carried out to ensure the safety of residents and minimise property damage in actual flood emergencies.
The KOICA Office in Laos hopes the project will contribute not only achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.5 (understanding integrated water resource management) and SDG11.5 (water-related disaster mitigation) but also strengthen the capacity of Laos to respond to water security through establishing a cooperative water management governance system among stakeholders.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update October 22, 2020)