Govt, Switzerland launch dam safety assistance project

The Lao government and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) on Friday signed an agreement to initiate the Dam Safety Technical and Institutional Assistance project.
The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and SDC in a ceremony chaired by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Mrs Phonevanh Outhavong.

Officials from the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation on Friday gather to sign an agreement on the Dam Safety Technical and Institutional Assistance project.

The agreement marks the start of longer-term support from Switzerland starting from Phase I in the amount of about CHF4.8 million or US$5.2 million from now until March 2026 with a foreseen second phase of a similar scale, provided the evaluation of the first phase is satisfactory.
The objectives of the project are to assist the government to increase the security level of hydropower infrastructure in line with the standards set in the new Law on Dam Safety approved in 2022.
This will help to protect people, property and the environment from the harmful effects of poor operation or failure of dams and reservoirs.
The project will help inform the decisions of the government with respect to legal frameworks and the setting of dam safety standards, and strengthen the capacity of the Lao authorities to ensure that dam safety measures are fully considered in dam construction, operation and maintenance.
The failure of a dam at the Xepian-Xenamnoy hydropower plant in 2018 triggered increased awareness of the risks and importance of dam safety issues.
The 2019-2020 National Emergency Dam Safety Inspection (NEDSI), initiated subsequently with the support of various donors including Switzerland, and the review of the institutional and legal frameworks conducted by a Swiss Adviser, revealed that there was a need to improve the safety of hydropower infrastructure.
The legal and institutional framework as well as human resources capacities relating to dam safety require the adoption of measures to bring them to the level of international safety standards for such infrastructure.
Mrs Phonevanh said the National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025 confirms the relevance of hydropower for the country’s socio-economic development and ensuring local provision of electricity, as well as increasing national income from power export.
“Hydropower dams represent a risk of disaster in case of faulty design or construction, lack of maintenance, surveillance and failure to implement environmental and social safeguards. Ensuring the safety of energy production infrastructure is vital for people living around and downstream of dams as well as for securing a sustainable income for the government while providing a means of production for the local economy,” she said.
SDC Regional Director of Cooperation for the Mekong Region, Mr Jean-François Cuénod, said Switzerland was happy to share its expertise and experience in this field.
SDC, in coordination with other development partners, will strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Energy and Mines to ensure that the dam safety law and by laws, as well as the operation and maintenance of dams, are in conformity with international practices.
He stressed that the aim of this project is to strengthen the ministry’s capacity to fulfil its mandate of dam safety supervisory authority.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update January 23, 2023)