Laos helps Việt Nam deal with drought, salt intrusion

March 26, 2016 - 12:20

Laos is releasing water from its dams to the Mekong River to help Việt Nam cope with drought and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

A hydropower plant dam ò Laos. Laos is releasing water from its dams to the Mekong River to help Việt Nam cope with drought and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta.— Photo EDF

HÀ NỘI (VNS) — Laos is releasing water from its dams to the Mekong River to help Việt Nam cope with drought and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

The ministry quoted Lao Minister of Energy and Mines Khammany Inthirath as saying on Wednesday that Laos will discharge around 1,136 cubmic meters of water per second to the lower Mekong River basin from March 23 to the end of May this year.

Together with the volume of water being released from dams in China and several rivers of Thailand , the total amount of extra water from the upper Mekong River flowing down to Laos , Cambodia , and Viêt Nam will be about 3,611cu.m per second.

The water is expected to arrive in the Mekong Delta in the first week of April 2016, according to the Vietnamese foreign ministry. —VNS

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