New homes built for Attapeu flood victims

Families who lost their homes during the catastrophic flood that hit Attapeu province in July 2018 are preparing to move into specially built houses.
A total of 700 houses are being built by the developers of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower plant, which was the source of the accidental flood after a dam collapsed.
Information about the new housing in Sanamxay district, which was devasted by the flood, was given to Vientiane Times on Friday by officials from the Energy and Mines Department in Attapeu province.

The United Nations is financing the construction of an additional 66 houses and Thailand is funding 35 others. Some families have already moved in after spending months in temporary accommodation.
The houses are currently under construction in Dongbakmai hinkham, Hinlath, Donebokmai saengchanh and Samongmai pindong villages.
The two-storey homes are solidly built from concrete and are located on relatively high ground.
A report stated that about 500 houses are expected to be completed by April next year.
Director of the province’s Energy and Mines Department, Mr Vithaya Phommachanh, said he hoped that all of the families currently living in temporary housing would be in their new homes by Lao New Year in mid-April.
“They will be able to celebrate Lao New Year in their new homes,” he said.
Following the collapse of the dam at the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower plant on July 23, 2018, homeless families were initially accommodated in tents and shelters before moving into more liveable temporary housing in Sanamxay district.
In cooperation with the hydropower plant developers, displaced people were moved to temporary housing in five villages.
When the dam collapsed, the resulting flood killed over 40 people and many more went missing while thousands of others were made homeless. Several villages were wiped out by the flood.
The dam has now been rebuilt in a different location and is more structurally sound. It was built under the guidance of specialist engineers from international energy companies.
Now all hydropower projects are under scrutiny by the government, with officials ordered to inspect all dams under construction and ensure their safety.
Attapeu province is in the far south of Laos and shares borders with Vietnam and Cambodia.

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update December 7, 2020)