Measures to protect the watershed around the Nam Ngiep 1 hydropower project are being
put into place following the establishment of a committee to take responsibility for the
environment around the project.
Dr Akhom Tounalom, Vice Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, has
announced the formation of a Watershed Management Committee charged with overseeing
protection of the natural environment in the areas of Bolikhamxay and Xaysomboun
provinces around the future Nam Ngiep 1 Reservoir.
Construction of the 290‐megawatt Nam Ngiep 1 hydro plant begins this month following the
finalisation of financial backing for the project last month. The project is owned by the Nam
Ngiep 1 Power Company (NNP1), a partnership between Kansai Electric Power of Japan,
EGAT International of Thailand and the Lao Holding State Enterprise.
The project will build two dams on the Ngiep River in Bolikhamxay, thereby creating a 70‐
square kilometre reservoir that will supply water to the plant’s two power stations
throughout the year. NNP1 is contributing funding to protect the watershed around the
reservoir for the four years of construction and throughout the 27‐year concession period.
Conserving forest around the reservoir is essential to the long‐term success of hydropower
projects. Forests help attract the rainfall needed to keep reservoirs full and also prevent soil
on the slopes around reservoirs from slipping into the water and silting up a project’s water
storage capacity.
To this end the Ministry for Natural Resources and the Environment is coordinating
management of the NNP1 funds through a committee comprised of members of the
Department of Forestry Resource Management and provincial officials from Bolikhamxay
and Xaysomboun.
Among its duties the committee will be responsible for overseeing a biodiversity offset
programme proposed by NNP1 and a Reservoir Management Committee. The biodiversity
offset programme consists of investments made by NNP1 in National Protected Areas to
compensate for any disturbance to wildlife populations caused by construction of the
project. The Reservoir Management Committee will protect the fishing rights of villagers
living around the reservoir while developing the reservoir as a navigation and tourism asset.
The Nam Ngiep 1 project will provide electricity to the national grid and export to Thailand
to earn foreign exchange needed for national development. International social and
environmental standards are built into the company’s agreement with the government,
which is designed to build an environmentally sustainable project that contributes to
improved livelihoods for local communities and Lao people in general.