A project funded by Chinese investors to build an industrial city near a potash mine has local villagers in Khammouane province concerned about negative impacts to their communities and their forest-based livelihood.
Developer Sino Agri International Potash Co. signed a memorandum of understanding with the Laos government on March 24 to build a “smart-eco industrial city” on 20 square kilometers of land in Nong Bok and Tha Khek districts.
The industrial city will be divided into three zones: An industry zone for production of fertilizer feedstock, a city zone with office buildings and a community zone for living.
Sino Agri began excavating a potassium mine in 2020 near the site for the industrial city. The company is a subsidiary of Asia Potash, which has direct links to entities directed by China’s governing State Council.
The council announced last year that it was seeking to expand China’s access to potassium salt resources used to make fertilizer, including potash, a soluble form of potassium.
China is the world’s largest consumer of fertilizer and the State Council is looking to secure reliable supplies of potassium resources. Asia Potash has said it is looking to boost annual potassium production in Laos to 3-5 million metric tons – up from 1 million – in the next few years.
Influx of workers from China
An official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, who declined to reveal his name, said the details of the project remain secret.
“We can’t reveal to the public yet,” the official said to Radio Free Asia on March 28. “The project should begin by now.”
A guesthouse owner in Nong Bok district told RFA’s Lao service that preparation work has been ongoing for a year and a half.
“Some of the workers have stayed in my guesthouse,” the owner said, noting that all of the workers came from China. “They have rented for a long time already.”
One villager told RFA that construction has begun on forested land that villagers use to search for food and otherwise make a living.
Another villager said the project hasn’t encroached on villagers’ private land but people are still worried the community will undergo too much change because of so many workers moving to the area.
Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.
By RFA Lao | Radio Free (2023-04-03T20:29:00+00:00) Chinese-funded project would build industrial city near Laos mine. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2023/04/03/chinese-funded-project-would-build-industrial-city-near-laos-mine/
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