A helicopter was dispatched by the Lao Government to send relief to victims of the dam collapse (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) –Vietnamese agencies, businesses, organisations, and individuals have offeredaid to victims of the collapse of the Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam inSanamxay district of the Lao provinceof Attapeu.
Dao Van Hieu, Vietnamese Consul General to four southernprovinces of Laos, visited and presented gifts to affected families on July 27,pledging that his consulate general would provide further practical support tohelp victims soon stabilise their lives.
The agency has called on many businesses, organisations, andindividuals in the four southern provinces of Champasak, Salavan, Sekong, andAttapeu to assist the victims, he said.
The same day, the Vietnamese Association in Attapeu handedover 1 million LAK, along with many essential commodities, to each of theaffected families.
Unitel, a joint venture between Vietnam’s Military Industry andTelecoms Group(Viettel) and Lao Asia Telecom Company, also donated 400 million LAK (nearly50,000 USD) in total to the victims.
Representativesof PetroVietnam Oil Corporation visited and presented 10,000 USD andnecessities to the Lao residents.
Earlier, HoangAnh Gia Lai Group donated 50 tonnes of rice, 100,000 packets of noodles, fivetonnes of dried fish, and 2,000 sets of clothes to the victims.
What is more,nurses and doctors of Hoang Anh Gia Lai University Medical Centre provided healthcheck-ups and medicine for over 1,000 residents in the flooded localities.
[Photos: A close look at dam collapse incident in Laos]
Since July 25,nurses and doctors from the 2016 Friendship Company based in Paksong districtof Champasak province, also gave health check-ups, treatment, and donations to theaffected.
The company hasso far collected 200 million VND (8,600 USD) in support for the victims.
Over the past fewdays, the Vietnamese Embassy and its agencies, along with the Vietnamesecommunity and businesses in Vientiane raised an assistance fund of about 45,000USD.
The Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam collapsed at 8pm on July23, releasing 5 billion cubic metres of water which completely isolatedSanamxay district.
Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said at apress conference on July 25 that the dam collapse has already affected 13villages and is continuing to reach six others as the floods are still flowing.
He informed the press that 587 families with3,060 people have been made homeless, with 131 people still missing.
The Sepien-Senamnoi hydroelectric power plant isbeing constructed by the Sepien-Senamnoi Power Company (PNPC), which is ajoint-venture of SK Engineering and Construction (SK E&C), Korea WesternPower (KOWEPO), Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding (RATCH), and LaoHolding State Enterprise (LHSE).
SK E&C holds a 24 percent stake in PNPC,LHSE holds 26 percent, and RATCH and KOWEPO equally split the remaining sharesin the project.
The project, which is estimated to cost 1.02billion USD, is the first build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to be undertakenby Korean companies in Laos.
Construction of the project began in February2013 and commercial operations were expected to begin this year. –VNA
VNA
