Myanmar and Laos Plan Downstream Mekong’s Biggest Dam Yet The joint feasibility study between Myanmar and Laos for a massive 2,790 megawatt hydropower project on the Mekong River has sent shockwaves through Southeast Asia.
The project is being touted as a symbol of their "friendship" and a boon to energy security in the region. However, beneath the surface, this project reveals itself to be more politics than power.
The Mekong River has long been at the center of regional tensions, with downstream countries like Thailand and Vietnam worried about the impact of upstream dams on fish stocks and water flow.