Laos dams that broke down during construction were due to Japanese funds – what media should be reporting over the beating of Korea
Dam breakage accident occurred in Lao PDR in Southeast Asia in July of this year due to Korean companies joining the dam construction . The subsidiary dams installed in the reservoir of Sepiaan, Senamnoyi · Dam under construction in the tributary of the Mekong River in the Sekon River system collapsed, and the overflowing flooded water directly hit the six downstream villages. It was a catastrophic flood of 13 villages.
According to the local news report, dozens of people died, about 100 or more people were missing, about 6,000 people Although it is considered to have lost, investigation is also difficult, so detailed situation has not been confirmed. Since Korean companies such as SK Construction were joining the joint venture company that is carrying out this sepian · senamnoy · dam project, in conspicuous media also taken up major in conservative media and criticized Korean companies.
Even on the net, the right wing of the net was greatly raised as “fuel” of beating Korea. However, public officials and private enterprises in Japan are also involved in the problem dams in terms of financing.
◆ The broken dam was due to
Japanese funds How Japan’s funds are involved in the sepian · senamnoy · dam business. Yuka Kiguchi, executive director of NPO “Mekong Watch” who makes policy recommendations on development and human rights in Southeast Asia will explain like this.
“This is a joint venture between private enterprises in Thailand and South Korea and state-owned enterprises in Laos, among which Thai banks co-financing this joint venture, Krungsi-Ayuttaya Bank is currently implementing the project at the end of 2017 At the time, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank owns 76.88% of the shares and it is under the control of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.The loan decision will be before the integration, but the current management team has the CEO and many others People are joining. “
GPIF (Pension Reserve Management Investment Independent Administrative Institution) is also involved in the Sepian-Senamnoy · Dam project.
“GPIF holds shares of Krung Thai Bank with market capitalization of approximately 1.48265 million yen, and GPIF is a joint venture between Korea Import and Export Bank, which is financing a Laotian state-owned enterprise that forms a joint venture Claims also have approximately 6,268.14 million yen in market capitalization, which means that our pension supports such corporate activities through financial institutions etc. “Mr. Koguchi
◆ With Japanese support Development of dam of Lao going at rapid pace with built dams triggered
Large hydroelectric power projects aiming for selling power to other countries such as Thailand are currently undergoing rapid progress in Laos . But Laos is a country that one people can not speak freely or do not rally under one party dictatorship.
“The development of a hasty dam, which neglected the safety and rights of local people where the project is held, led to the collapse of this incident,” Mr. Koguchi said. And it is said that Laos has a strong influence on Japan as a background of dam development as a pillar of its economic growth strategy.
“The Japanese government supported through the World Bank (World Bank) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and started construction in 2005 as” a model of sustainable development leading to poverty reduction and environmental conservation in Laos “, starting in 2010 It was Nam Tun 2 Dam that started. “(Mr. Koguchi)
With this project as the opportunity, the Government of Laos put forward its efforts towards rapid dam development. There were only 10 MW or more hydroelectric power projects operated before the project, but now there are 13 operations, 22 construction stages, 39 MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) phase, the stage of business development agreement is There are 23 hydroelectric power dam projects in progress.
“However, in the construction of Nam Tun 2 Dam, problems such as the difficulty of recovering the livelihood of about 2,200 residents who were forcibly resettled, flood worsening due to changes in the amount of water downstream of the dam, etc. Even the dams to be built in the future There is a fear that the same problem may occur “(Mr. Koguchi)
◆ Mr.
Koguchi to review the development policy of Laos, which depends on the construction of a large-scale dam, and the roles of donor countries and lending institutions, said,” In this miserable accident In fact, it is the responsibility of the affiliated company to uniquely involve a lot of people.In any case, I would like you to take actions by thinking about the people who suffered the damage first, but loans making it possible to build a corporate dam We also need to verify the institution, as well as the development policy of Lao government dependent on the construction of a large dam and the role of donor countries / lending institutions that have supported it. “
“We will stop the operation of existing dams that are highly likely to be unable to respond to the unpredictable weather today. For dumb plans that do not match income with environmental and social impacts, the lending institutions and donor countries should consider canceling We should change the Lao PDR development aid itself, which promotes the construction of a large scale dam. “(Mr. Kiguchi)
If we are to consume the destruction of Sepian, Senamu Noi · dam as a formidable” hatred neta ” There is a need for Japanese media to take up as a problem that the attitudes of their own governments and companies are also questioned.
