MEKONG RIVER IN LAOS
In far northern Laos, the Mekong River lies in a deep valley shared with Myanmar. Further south it curves eastward and then southward in a great bend which forms the border with Thailand. Flood plains of varying width have formed along the Mekong and its tributaries. These lowlands are the most fertile areas in Laos. The section between Vientiane and Savannakhet are navigable by vessels up to 200 tons. Navigation on other sections is hampered by rapids, falls and shallows. The Mekong River’s middle section is navigable year round for 550 kilometers between Heuan Hin (north of the Khemmarat Rapids in Savannakhet) and Kok Phong, Luang Prabang Province. As better roads are built in Laos the Mekong River has become less vital for a transportation.
Eleanor J. Sterling and Merry D. Camhi wrote in Natural History magazine, The Mekong’s name translates from Lao as “mother of the waters.” It’s no wonder: the river snakes some 3,000 miles from its headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau to its outlet through the Mekong River Delta into the South China Sea. It and the uncountable “feeder” rivers and streams in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam make up the 300,000-square-mile Mekong River Basin. [Source: Eleanor J. Sterling and Merry D. Camhi, Natural History magazine, December 2007]
The Lao PDR is criss-crossed with a myriad of rivers and streams. The largest is the Mekong River, flowing for 1,898 kilometers from the North to the South, with 919 kilometers of the river forming the major portion of the border with Thailand. It is estimated that some 60 percent of all the water entering the Mekong River system originates in Laos. These rivers and streams provide great potential for hydropower development with 51 percent of the power potential in the lower Mekong basin contained within Laos. Mekong River is navigable much of length but is not navigable between the sea and Laos because of Khone Falls in southern Laos. The Nam Ou, Na That and Nam Ngum are large tributaries of the Mekong River.
See Separate Article factsanddetails.com; MEKONG RIVER: ITS ROUTE, HISTORY AND TRANSPORT ON IT factsanddetails.com; MEKONG RIVER BIODIVERSITY: FRESHWATER DOLPHINS, GIANT CATFISH AND STINGRAYS AND NEWLY-DISCOVERED SPECIES factsanddetails.com; MEKONG RIVER PROBLEMS: DEVELOPMENT, CHINA, LAWLESSNESS AND POLLUTION factsanddetails.com; DAMS ON THE MEKONG RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES factsanddetails.com
Route of the Mekong River in Laos
Most of Laos' many rivers eventually flow into the Mekong River (Mae Nam Khong in Lao). The Mekong forms the border between Laos and Burma and Thailand before flowing into Cambodia and Vietnam, where it empties into the South China Sea. [Source: Culture and Customs of Laos by Arne Kislenko, Greenwood Press, 2009]
The Mekong River flows through a narrow, 200-kilometer-long gorge in southern China and along the Myanmar-Laos. From the tripoint of China, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos the river flows southwest and forms the border of Burma and Laos for about 100 kilometres (62 miles) until it arrives at the tripoint of Burma, Laos, and Thailand. This is also the point of confluence between the Ruak River (which follows the Thai-Burma border) and the Mekong. The area of this tripoint is sometimes termed the Golden Triangle, although the term also refers to the much larger area of those three countries that is notorious as a drug producing region.
As one travels south on the Mekong its become easier to navigate and higher numbers of greater varieties of boats appear. From the Golden Triangle tripoint, the Mekong turns southeast to briefly form the border of Laos with Thailand. It then turns east into the interior of Laos, flowing first east and then south for some 400 kilometres (250 mi) before meeting the border with Thailand again. Once more, it defines the Laos-Thailand border for some 850 kilometres (530 mi) as it flows first east, passing in front of the capital of Laos, Vientiane, then turns south. A second time, the river leaves the border and flows east into Laos soon passing the city of Pakse. Thereafter, it turns and runs more or less directly south, crossing into Cambodia. At Khone Falls the river cascardes over rocks and separates into several branches, divided by forested islands, before it enters Cambodia.
Importance of the Mekong River to Laos
The Mekong has always been the economic and cultural heart of Laos. Its name reflects this: Me is an old Lao word meaning 'giver of life', 'chief', 'the biggest of all', or 'female' ('the bearer of life'). 'Kong' is a Khmer word meaning 'river', derived from the name of the holiest river in India, the Ganges (Kong-ka in Khmer).
Laos' major cities and towns, including Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Thakhek, Savannakhet and Pakse, are all situated on the Mekong. The river provides the lowland floodplains with fertile silts that enrich the soil, which is essential for a predominantly agricultural country. As it has been for centuries, the Mekong remains a major route for trade, transport, fishing, irrigation and, increasingly, tourism.
The Mekong River and its eastern tributaries drain all of Laos with the exception of Samneua Province in the northeast. The 1,600 kilometers of navigable water of the river that passes through Laos or along its border is the longest transportation and communication route in the country. But rapids in the far north and far south effectively cut Laos off from the sea and cross-border and international commercial possibilities.
Most of the western border of Laos is demarcated by the Mekong River, which is an important artery for transportation. The Khong falls at the southern end of the country prevent access to the sea, but cargo boats travel along the entire length of the Mekong in Laos during most of the year. Smaller power boats and pirogues provide an important means of transportation on many of the tributaries of the Mekong. The Mekong has thus not been an obstacle but a facilitator for communication, and the similarities between Laos and northeast Thai society — same people, same language — reflect the close contact that has existed across the river for centuries. Also, many Laotians living in the Mekong Valley have relatives and friends in Thailand. Prior to the twentieth century, Laotian kingdoms and principalities encompassed areas on both sides of the Mekong, and Thai control in the late nineteenth century extended to the left bank. Although the Mekong was established as a border by French colonial forces, travel from one side to the other has been significantly limited only since the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR, or Laos) in 1975. *
With an absence of railroads and a shortage of good roads the Mekong River is a vital transportation link in Laos. All of the country’s major cities and settlements are located on or near its banks. Flooding deposits rich top soil on its banks. The narrow flood plain is one of the main wet rice growing areas.
Chinese-Built Dams on Melong Tributaries in Laos
China is the largest foreign investor in Laos' hydropower sector and has financed or constructed a substantial share of the country's dams. Laos has more than 70 operational hydropower projects, and Chinese state-owned enterprises—particularly Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina)—have been involved in financing and building an estimated half of the country's hydropower portfolio. Chinese companies have also played a major role in planning and developing additional dams on both Mekong tributaries and the mainstream river.
One of China's largest hydropower investments in Laos is the Nam Ou Cascade, a US$2.8 billion project developed by PowerChina. The cascade consists of seven connected dams—Nam Ou 1 through Nam Ou 7—built along the Nam Ou River, a major tributary of the Mekong. The project is designed to generate electricity for both domestic use and export while regulating river flows throughout the basin.
Chinese companies have also financed and constructed numerous dams on other Mekong tributaries in Laos. These include projects on the Nam Beng, Nam Lik, and Nam Khan rivers, many of which have been supported by Chinese engineering firms, state-owned banks, and construction companies. Together, these projects have significantly expanded Laos' hydroelectric generating capacity and strengthened its strategy of becoming a regional exporter of electricity.
Beyond tributary dams, Chinese firms have been closely involved in planning and developing several proposed dams on the Mekong River's mainstream in Laos. These include the Pak Beng, Pak Lay, and Sanakham projects, which are intended to generate electricity for export to neighboring countries. While supporters argue that these projects contribute to economic development and renewable energy production, scientists and environmental organizations have expressed concern that additional mainstream dams could further alter river flows, reduce sediment transport, and affect fisheries and ecosystems throughout the Mekong Basin.
See Separate Article: DAMS AND HYDROPOWER IN LAOS factsanddetails.com
Impact of Chinese-Built Mekong Dams on Laos
Hannah Beech wrote in the New York Times: When the Chinese came to the village of Lat Thahae, perched on a muddy bend of a Mekong River tributary, they scrawled a Chinese character on the walls of homes, schools and Buddhist temples. No one in this isolated hamlet in northern Laos could read what it said. But the character means “demolish” — the fate of hundreds of communities along Asia’s great river reduced to a single foreign word. In 2019, a dam begia transforming this stretch of jagged hills and pristine jungle in one of the world’s most remote countries, part of a broader effort to propel some of Asia’s least-developed economies. It is one of seven Chinese-built hydropower projects on the Nam Ou River.[Source: Hannah Beech, New York Times, October 12, 2019]
“To make way for the dams, Lat Thahae and dozens more villages are being demolished. A Lat Thahae resident who goes by one name, See, said she was not satisfied with the offer from Sinohydro Corporation, China’s largest builder of dams overseas, to build her a bamboo shack miles away in return for destroying her spacious riverside home. But what power, she asked, does an illiterate farmer like her have in the face of China’s might? “I have to move because they tell me to move,” she said as an excavator with a Chinese driver and a Chinese license plate tore at
“Eleven dams are proposed for the lower mainstream Mekong, along with at least 300 more on feeder waterways. Of the dams in Laos whose operators and builders have been made public, about half are associated with Chinese companies. The country has borrowed heavily from Chinese state institutions to fund its projects.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Laos-Guide-999.com, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, NBC News, Fox News and various books and other publications.
Last updated August 2026