Thorn;
I. The administrative committee of the newly established Xaysomboun province was officially announced on Tuesday, with the former Mayor of Vientiane Dr Sombath Yialiher appointed as the provincial Governor.
The establishment of the new province was officially approved by the National Assembly the recently concluded 6th ordinary session of the 7th legislature last week.
The make-up of the new committee was revealed on Tuesday alongside the official ceremony of the provincial inauguration held in the provincial capital town of Anouvong - the former Xaysomboun town.
With a population of more than 81,800 people, the new province will cover an area of 8,500 square kilometres, comprising the five districts of Anouvong, Longxan, Longchaeng and Tha-thom.
The government hopes the establishment of Xaysomboun as the 17th province of Laos outside the capital will accelerate development in the impoverished zone, which has lagged behind due to a lack of human resources, poor infrastructure and other impediments to development.
II. The administrative committee of the newly established Xaysomboun province was officially announced on Tuesday, with the former Mayor of Vientiane Dr Sombath Yialiher appointed as the provincial Governor.
PM Thongsing ( 10th left ), newly appointed provincial governor Dr Sombath ( 12th left ), high ranking officials from the Party and government, and officials of the newly established Xaysomboun province pose for a group photo at the inauguration ceremony.
The establishment of the new province was officially approved by the National Assembly the recently concluded 6th ordinary session of the 7th legislature last week.
The make up of the new committee was revealed on Tuesday alongside the official ceremony of the provincial inauguration held in the provincial capital town of Anouvong - the former Xaysomboun town.
Before assuming the governorship of Xaysomboun province, Dr Sombath was the governor of Xayaboury province and then Mayor of Vientiane.
Xaysomboun was designated as a special zone back in 1994, however the government revoked this status in 2006.
Mr Sombath, who is also head of the committee responsible for studying the new province's establishment, has been working in grassroots development in the former special zone since he was reshuffled from the post of Vientiane Mayor in 2011.
The two Vice Governors of the new province are Mr Phoykham Houngboungnuang, and Mr Laopaoxong Navongxay.
Before assuming the post, Mr Phoykham was working as Vice Governor of Vientiane's Xaysettha district and after that as the Governor of Chanthabouly district.
Mr Laopaoxong is the former Director of the Justice Department in Vientiane province.
The former special zone used to comprise the five districts of Xaysomboun, Phoun, Tha-thom, Hom and Longxan.
However, four of the former districts were brought under the authority of Vientiane province and the other allocated to Xieng Khuang.
Regarding the establishment of the new province, the Party Central Committee Secretariat has agreed to establish the provincial Party organisation, and committee, comprising 21 members, with seven of them to become members of the provincial standing committee.
The governor and vice governors were also assumed as the Secretary and Deputy Secretaries of the provincial Party Executive Board respectively.
Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, and high-ranking officials from the Party Central Committee attended the ceremony to inaugurate the province.
With a population of more than 81,800 people, the new province will cover an area of 8,500 square kilometres, comprising the five districts of Anouvong, Longxan, Longchaeng and Tha-thom.
The government hopes the establishment of Xaysomboun as the 17th province of Laos outside the capital will accelerate development in the impoverished zone, which has lagged behind due to a lack of human resources, poor infrastructure and other impediments to development.
By Times Reporters
(Latest Update January 02, 2014)
III. Vientiane Times, May 12, 2014
Construction of Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower plant is scheduled to commence in August this year, at a cost of around US$900 million, the company has revealed at a consultation meeting last Friday.
Nam Ngiep 1 is a 290 MW project with a generating capacity of 1,620 GWh per annum. Agreement has been made to sell the majority of its production to Thailand with the balance being sent to the national power grid.
The meeting was held on Friday in Pakxan district of Borikhamxay province. Governor of Xaysomboun province, Dr Sombath Yialiher presided over the meeting attended by NNP1 Managing Director, Mr Yoshi Yamabayashi and local officials.
Representatives of government sectors, provincial authorities, international bodies, shareholders, residents of various affected villages and company staffers were also present at the meeting.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the project's plans for environmental and social mitigation measures, and the detailed plans for resettlement and livelihood improvement activities.
Dr Sombath said at the meeting that construction of the hydropower project will be part of boosting the growth of the national economy but the improvements to the affected villagers in the area were a special benefit.
"Project developers, government sectors and local authorities will need to work together closely to solve line issues," he said.
Dr Sombath, who is Chairman of the Committee for Resettlement and Relocation of affected residents from Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower project, also noted that the impact on the local area and its environment will be properly addressed to ensure the sustainability of biodiversity.
According to the company, the production of electricity will begin early in 2019 with a concession period of 27 years and the plant will come under the ownership of the government once the concession period has ended.
The Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company (NNP1) is jointly owned by KPIC Netherlands, a subsidiary of Japan's Kansai Electric Power, with 45 percent of the shares, EGAT International of Thailand with 30 percent and Lao Holding State Enterprise with the remaining 25 percent.
The hydropower project is located on the boundary between the two provinces of Xaysomboun and Borikhamxay.
The company's Deputy Managing Director, Mr Kasem Chudthong, revealed at the meeting that the main dam and power station will generate 272 MW of power for export to Thailand.
About 6km downstream from the main dam, the re-regulating dam and power station will generate 18 MW of electricity for sale to Electricite du Laos (EDL) for contribution to the domestic grid.