Statement on the Release of the NT2 Panel of Experts 24th Report

[The World Bank - 09.11.2015] Statement on the Release of the NT2 Panel of Experts 24th Report

from International Financial Institutions
The Nam Theun 2 Multipurpose Hydropower Project (NT2) in Lao PDR represents a long-term commitment and concerted effort by all stakeholders to develop a socially and environmentally responsible hydro power project - one that generates power while also protecting the environment and reducing poverty in one of the worlds poorest countries.
We welcome the 24th Report of the International Environmental and Social Panel of Experts (PoE) for Project.
Since 1997, NT2 has benefitted from the advice of the PoE, whose mandate is to provide guidance on managing the social and environmental impacts of the project.
The 24th report focuses in particular on the closure of the Resettlement Implementation Period in December 2015, as anticipated in the Concession Agreement between Lao PDR and the project developer, the Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC).
The report contains a number of recommendations, including extending the Resettlement Implementation Period for two years with a view of the long-term sustainability of livelihoods on the Nakai Plateau.
Since the start of commercial operations in 2010, NT2 has consistently met its energy production targets, and the government has received about $174 million in gross revenues from NTPC. The project delivered livelihood, health and education benefits for over 6,000 resettled people on the Nakai Plateau.
Specifically, resettled families are benefitting from: 1,310 new houses with bathrooms and toilets, electricity and rainwater collection tanks; 330 water pumps; 270 kilometers of new or upgraded access roads; 16 nursery and 17 primary schools, and two new health centers and an upgraded district hospital; and community infrastructure such as roofed markets. Resettled families also receive financial and technical support to take advantage of new livelihood opportunities.
A household survey conducted in 2013 found over 86 percent of resettled families reported they were better off than before resettlement and that 97 percent of resettled families had reached the Household Income Target - the national rural poverty line. A later survey, conducted from late 2014 to early 2015, confirmed that the average consumption of resettled communities significantly exceeds the rural average.
We are working with the Government of Lao PDR, NTPC and other partners to help ensure that the project continues to build on its accomplishments, with the expected economic, environmental and social benefits for resettled families on the Nakai Plateau.
Signed by Agence Française de Développement, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, World Bank Group

Media Contacts
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Paul Risley
prisley@worldbank.org