Thai dredging vessels told to retreat from Lao side of the Mekong
The operators of Thai sand dredgers working in the Mekong River close to Khammuan province signed a document last week stating they would not continue to cross the border into Laos.
Deputy Head of the Khammuan provincial Administration Office, Mr Vannavong Vongphachan, told Vientiane Times on Tuesday that authorities had reported that Thai sand dredging vessels had crossed the Lao border in the middle of the river.
Local authorities cautioned the vessels three times, saying they should cross back into Thai territory, but they did not move.
According to the provincial authorities, Thai dredgers transgressed into the Lao side of the river, straying about 320m into Lao waters.
“The Thais returned home after signing a document stating they would not again dredge for sand on the Lao side of the river border,” Mr Vannavong said.
He pointed out that riverbank erosion was a risk if large quantities of sand were removed.
According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Mekong riverbank in Laos is increasingly being protected against erosion through the construction of embankments, with the work beginning in 2007 and 2008.
Scores of towns located all along the Mekong are now protected, just as in Vientiane. About 50 percent of the riverbank has been shored up against erosion.
The government pays for the construction of embankments in accordance with the extent of erosion that has already occurred.
In towns, riverbanks are shored up with concrete embankments, but in less populated areas rocks are dumped alongside the riverbank. The piles of rocks cause the water to change the direction of flow so that it doesn't rush forcefully around the river's edge.
Ministry officials are calculating the area of land that has been protected from erosion and say many square kilometres of land along the Mekong have been saved.
The ministry estimates that since 1975 more than 80 square kilometres of land have gradually fallen into the river as there was only limited riverbank protection for much of this time.
The Mekong River floods perennially during the rainy season around July and August on its way through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Erosion often occurs in the rainy season when the river flows fast, and large sections of riverbank can collapse quite suddenly.
