In February, China's bid was rejected, and Laos chose South Korea cheaply, resulting in the dam project becoming "tofu slag", torrential rain poured, the dam burst, floodwaters gushed wildly, flooding large swaths of villages, hundreds of people unfortunately died, even the bodies could not be found, nearly 6,000 people's houses were flooded or washed away, and survivors could only wait anxiously on the rooftops for rescue.
This is the tragedy of the floods that struck Laos in July 2018.
Tofu slag project "brewed", South Korean company won the Laos hydropower station construction project The Southeast Asian country of Laos recently suffered a flood that has not been seen in a century, which has attracted global attention.
The root cause of the flood was the sudden burst of a large levee in Laos, with catastrophic consequences for the Lao people. Laos organized a commission of inquiry to investigate and found that the flood was not only a natural disaster, but also a man-made disaster.
It is understood that the flood was caused by the "cutting corners" of South Korean builders, and the dam became a "tofu scum project", which was destroyed in one flush, and finally caused tragic consequences.
This has also triggered people's attention to people's livelihood and water conservancy and thinking about the responsibility of national builders. Prior to this tragedy, Laos had issued a tender to the world in 2011 to solicit competent water companies to develop and build planned hydropower projects.
Among the many enterprises in China, Japan, Germany and South Korea, the first unanimously agreed that Chinese companies are the most likely to stand out, after all, China's Three Gorges Dam as the world's largest hydropower project, is really rare in the world, famous, in addition to Laos and China's Yunnan Province border are both socialist countries, the relationship is also more intimate, the possibility of cooperation is also greater.
However, what was surprising was that in the end, Laos announced that South Korea's SK E&C and Korea Western Power Company won the construction rights for the project.
Why did Laos choose Korean companies among so many companies? The reasons for this are food for thought. For such a developing country with relatively weak conditions for capital, technology, and infrastructure construction, it is very difficult to complete a water conservancy construction project on its own.
The best way to do this is to find cooperation with other countries. However, when choosing a partner, Laos** chose a South Korean company that had many problems during construction and operation.
The result of this is undoubtedly to put one's own country and people in greater danger. The tragedy of the floods in Laos once again reminds us that people's livelihood and water conservancy are extremely important, and the responsibility of national builders is even more important.
Only those enterprises and builders who are truly powerful and responsible can truly bring well-being to the country and the people.
SK Construction's answer has always been: "Money." Laos' economic strength is limited, with a per capita GDP of less than $3,000. For the sake of **, Laos opted for a bid as low as 10$200 million Korean company.
In the end, the two sides signed an agreement for the construction of the Sampian Sangnam Nam Nam Hydropower Project in the south-central part of Laos, on the Borophon Plateau. However, what Laos did not expect was that in order to save costs, South Korean companies cut corners, which eventually led to a catastrophe, for which Laos paid a heavy price.
So, what exactly did Korean companies do in the construction process? What is China's attitude to the collapse of the dam in Laos? South Korea cut corners, causing the dam in Laos to collapse in one flush, and the quality is comparable to "tofu slag".
Laos thought it would be more cost-effective to reject China's proposal and opt for a dam built by South Korea, but it turned out to be more than worth the cost. As soon as the South Korean company took over the project, it made construction plans, planning to build two dams and a power generation unit in the planned construction area.
Although the reservoir is expected to hold only one-eighth of China's Three Gorges Reservoir, it is worth the money if it is built well. However, just then, a secondary dam called "D" went wrong.
The dam was built by Koreans, and the quality was not up to par. Once it encounters a current, it is easily eroded, and in the face of a menacing flood, it is even more easily washed away, leading to flooding.
So why is the quality of this sub-dam built in South Korea not up to standard? At the end of the day, it's because South Korean companies cut corners.
In order to save costs, South Korea has cut corners, and although important functional facilities such as interception tanks, drainage cushions, and grouting curtains have been planned in the design drawings, these key steps have been omitted in actual operation.
Laos, as a tropical country, has frequent heavy rainfall, but South Korea ignored these problems during the construction of the D dam, which led to the dam breaking. In July 2018, the tropical storm "Sanshen" swept through Southeast Asia, most of Laos suffered a downpour, and the river water level continued to **, but the relevant South Korean companies did not show due vigilance and did not take measures to reduce the water level of the reservoir in advance, resulting in the rupture of the D dam and irreparable losses in Laos.
The crack was already very obvious, but the South Korean personnel were late and missed the best time to repair it, causing the crack to deteriorate into a dislocation, and the top of the dam collapsed in a large area, and the embankment burst was imminent.
South Korean construction workers hurriedly issued an alarm after the crack appeared in the D auxiliary dam, asking Laos to evacuate the downstream residents, but due to the urgency of time, at 9 o'clock in the morning on July 24, the D auxiliary dam burst its embankment, and the flood rushed out of the river and went straight to the downstream villages.
Many people were engulfed in the flood before they could react, unable to save themselves, and had to wait on rooftops for help. This sudden disaster plunged the Lao people into deep pain and anxiety.
Compared with the anxiety of the Lao people, the South Korean construction workers have already been safely evacuated. Although the South Korean side was directly responsible for the accident, it was the first to leave the scene after the accident.
This sparked anger and shame among South Korean netizens, who accused the companies involved of being irresponsible, disgraced the country, and demanded compensation for Laos. The controversy attracted a lot of attention, and many people were watching the subsequent development of events.
What was China's attitude when a dam collapsed in Laos, causing villages to be flooded and floods to ravage? The disaster was triggered by South Korea's negligence, and China is doing its best to help Laos** deal with the problem.
This incident once again reminds us that water conservancy projects are a long-term plan related to people's livelihood and must be treated with caution. This incident was due to the fact that Laos** rashly handed over the task of dam construction to South Korea for the sake of small profits, which led to serious consequences.
Sadly, in the face of their own failures, South Korean companies have tried to cover up their mistakes instead of first thinking about how to make up for their mistakes and help the Lao people through the difficulties.
Immediately after the dam burst, the Western Power Company of Korea claimed that "the cause of the cracks in the dam is not yet clear, and everything is related to heavy rain and the negligence of local residents."
This statement has caused widespread controversy, because it is well known that "taking people's money, since the relevant South Korean companies have signed an agreement with Laos, they should do their best to build the dam."
Laos is already rainy, so why not take this factor seriously and take precautions in advance? Now that the matter has been revealed, the Korean enterprises only want to evade their responsibilities, which fully exposes the mercenary intentions of the businessmen.
The agreement to build the dam was signed between Laos and South Korea, and whether the flood was blamed on natural or man-made disasters, China could avoid being involved. But witnessing the lives of the Lao people under threat and the country suffering enormous losses, China cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of its neighbors.
At this critical moment, China has shown the attitude of "when one side is in trouble, all sides will support", and quickly helped Laos to rescue and provide disaster relief. On July 25, 2018, the staff of the Third Hydropower Bureau of PowerChina went to the disaster area in Laos with a large number of donated materials, three days earlier than the South Koreans.
As soon as they arrived in the disaster area, they immediately went to the rescue and actively rescued the affected roads and bridges, which bought precious rescue time for the affected people in Laos.
With the assistance of PowerChina, the rescue work of the dam failure accident in Sangpian Sanannan, Laos has achieved remarkable results, and PowerChina has been awarded the "Lao National Development Medal".
China has not only performed well in relief work, but has also played an active role in post-disaster reconstruction. After the floods, the South Korean company issued a tender for the repair of the dam, and the Chinese company successfully won the bid and completed the complex project.
At the end of 2019, the rehabilitation of the Sam Pian Dam was completed, providing stable electricity to the people of Laos, Vietnam and other countries**. Chinese hydropower companies have not only played an important role in the restoration project of the Sangpian Dam, but also won many orders in the international market for their superb technology and reliable quality, and successfully built a number of excellent water conservancy projects, which have won wide acclaim.
It is believed that Laos has learned from this incident that "you get what you pay for, and you suffer big losses if you are greedy for a small price," and that it will have a deeper understanding and trust in China's hydropower enterprises, and that the cooperation between the two countries in the field of water conservancy development will be more in-depth.