Vietnam provides more aid for Lao collapsed dam victims

Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnamese Government has so far donated 200,000 USD sourced from State budget reserves and 100 tonnes of rice to the Lao Government in order to help the neighbouring country overcome the aftermath of the collapse of the Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam.

The National Committee on Incident, Disaster Response and Search and Rescue’s office has also asked the Government to allocate 150 sets of canvas shelters from the national reserve for the relief.

By the afternoon of July 27, the Ministry of Defence instructed Military Region 5 to organise forces of more than 100 officers and soldiers, as well as nine vehicles, medicine for 500 people, food, and bottled water totalling 450 million VND (18,900 USD) for the relief work in Laos.

Military Corp 15 has provided 10 million LAK (1,250 USD) to assist survivors in the province. Meanwhile, 200 people in the affected areas were given free medical examinations the same day. Armed forces of Military Region 5 also coordinated with Lao authorities to direct traffic and search for missing people.

Vietnam’s diplomatic representative agencies in Laos, and associations of the Vietnamese Community in Laos also raised over 10,000 USD to assist the dam collapse victims.

The Ministry of Public Security’s representatives in Laos on July 30 handed over 50,000 USD to the Lao Ministry of Public Security to help the victims and the Attapeu police overcome consequences of the incident.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development handed over 300 million VND (12,600 USD) to the Lao Embassy in Hanoi.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee, and the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) also donated 21,000 USD and 50,000 USD, respectively, to the flooding victims.

On July 30, the VRCS sent a delegation to Attapeu to present relief supplies to the victims, and will continue to call for more donations from enterprises for the work.

Authorities from Ho Chi Minh City also planned to send a delegation to Attapeu from August 1-2 to present 100,000 USD in cash and relief supplies to the Lao locality.

As a locality sharing a border with Attapeu, the central province of Kon Tum donated 550 million VND (23,770 USD) in cash and 200 million VND (8,644 USD) worth of relief supplies to the dam collapse victims.

Thua Thien-Hue and Gia Lai provinces donated 10,000 USD and 400 million VND (17,288 USD) to the victims.

Star Telecom, a joint venture between Lao Asia Telecom and Vietnam’s Viettel Group, provided 35,700 USD in aid to victims via the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

At the same time, Hoang Anh Gia Lai offered 50 tonnes of rice; 100,000 packs of noodles; 5 tonnes of dried fish; 2,000 sets of clothes; as well as other relief supplies to victims. The Hoang Anh Gia Lai Medical University Hospital also sent its medical workers to Attapeu in order to provide free check-ups and medicine for locals.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade on July 30 raised funds to help Lao people affected the incident.

At present, there are many ministries, sectors, and localities active in fundraising for the relief work.

The Sepien-Senamnoi hydropower dam collapsed at 8pm on July 23, causing massive floods which completely isolated six villages in the Sanamxay district of Attapeu province. 

Some 587 families with 3,060 people were reportedly made homeless, while more than 100 people were still unaccounted for. 

The 410MW capacity hydropower plant is being constructed by the Sepien-Senamnoi Power Company (PNPC), which is a joint venture of SK Engineering and Construction (SK E&C) and Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) from the Republic of Korea, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding (RATCH) from Thailand, and Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE). 

Construction of the project, which is estimated to cost 1.02 billion USD, began in February 2013 and commercial operations were expected to begin this year. –VNA