"Controversial Chinese Development Project in Laos Moves Closer to Government Approval", 20 October 2020

A controversial Chinese development project in Laos is now moving ahead despite environmentalists’ warnings and long delays caused by villagers’ objections to surveys of their land by the Chinese firm, Lao sources say.

The Vang Vieng New Development Zone, a $5.3 billion project claiming more than 7,000 hectares of land [...].

The China-owned Lao-Vang Vieng New Zone Development Group “is now proposing the project to the government,” an official of the Planning and Investment Department of Vientiane province’s Vang Vieng district told RFA’s Lao Service [...].

Environmentalists and area residents have long voiced concern that the project could potentially ruin the natural beauty of the popular tourist destination with its mountains, lagoons, and rivers, and destroy the livelihoods and homes of villagers nearby.

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A third Vang Vieng resident said the proposed project’s area, a zone west of the Xong river and the town of Vang Vieng itself, should be preserved in its present state, adding, “We don’t need modern development. Vang Vieng is a natural tourist attraction, and many people come here to see its natural beauty.”

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Areas later surveyed by the Chinese firm covered mountains, water sources, and land already divided into residents’ plots, the landowner said. Meanwhile, villagers without permanent title to their land could easily lose their land outright if the project moves ahead.

“We don’t care if the project takes land somewhere else. But if they try to take our land, which we have been farming for over 100 years, we won’t give it up,” he said. “The compensation they would offer won’t be nearly enough. It’s not worth giving up our land.”

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