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Pak Beng is a town in northern Laos that is soon to be sandwiched between two China-built hydropower projects. Photo by a Pak Beng resident

Pak Beng is a small, sleepy town in the north of Laos. Little happens in this town except when the slow boat emerges on the Mekong River pier at six in the evening. When that happens, shops, bars, and restaurants near the pier come alive to greet arriving tourists.

Like many rural towns in Laos, Pak Beng lacks infrastructure. However, about two months ago, a small development startled some residents. They discovered a company planning to build a new hydropower dam nearby.

“There was an official team in [town] about two months ago inspecting the site,” a shopkeeper told CGSP. Another town dweller, La, said he had seen workers’ camps up at the dam’s site some fifteen kilometers north of the town.