Lao PDR government web team complete final training
Official www.poweringprogress.org web site proves popular source for information on the Nam Theun 2 project – receives almost 3,500 distinct visitors in first six months
Vientiane , 28 h February, 2005 : Web team staff from the Lao National Committee for Energy (LNCE) recently completed the last phase of a detailed web site management training programme.
The team now has all the skills necessary to maintain and develop the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) official web site for information on the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower project and the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy (NGPES), www.poweringprogress.org .
Launched on 30 th August, 2004 , the site has proven a popular information resource, attracting almost 3,500 distinct visitors so far, from countries around the world. The new web site forms part of the government's wider communications strategy for informing interested parties both about the NT2 project in general, and its direct relevance to the NGPES in particular.
The site also includes extensive content in Lao, and is one of the largest Lao-language sites on the Internet.
The web site management training was conducted by leading Lao internet company PlaNet Online, and included courses in site structure management, site presentation and multimedia file management.
The ‘poweringprogress' web site includes a facility for visitors to subscribe for automatic email updates. Employing their new skills, the web team recently used this feature to advise subscribers of the start of the World Bank's appraisal process for the NT2 project.
Visitors to the web site can find comprehensive information about the NT2 project, including maps and downloadable PDF versions of key safeguard documents such as the Summary Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (SESIA), the Social and Environmental Management Framework and Operational Plan (SEMFOP), the Social Development Plan (SDP) and the Environmental Assessment and Management Plan (EAMP) – documents that reflect tens of thousands of hours of study and research by international experts.
The site also includes a downloadable PDF version of the NGPES and presents key development information for the Lao PDR in graphical and statistical forms. Visitors can download video clips of consultations with project-affected peoples and other project-related activities.
Other sections of the site include a Links page with details of related public sector, private sector and NGO web sites, and a Frequently Asked Questions page.
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Nam Theun 2
Nam Theun 2 is a 1,070 megawatt (MW) trans basin hydropower project located in the central Laotian province of Khammouane, about 250 km east of the capital, Vientiane. NT2 is primarily intended to generate electricity for export to neighbouring Thailand , where peak demand has risen from roughly 14,000 MW in 1998 to more than 19,500 MW today, and is now forecast to exceed 40,000 MW by 2016. Government revenues from the Nam Theun 2 project – US$500 million by 2020 - are to play an integral role in funding NGPES programmes while at the same time helping the Lao PDR to reduce its dependence on international Official Development Assistance (ODA) grants and loans.
• Under-5 mortality rate – 10%
• Villages with access to electricity – 20%
• Current contribution of electricity sales to export revenues – 30%
• Children with moderate to severe malnutrition – 40%
• Agricultural land affected by unexploded ordnance (UXO) – 50%
• Current ODA contribution to rural development – 60%
• Ethnic minorities as proportion of total population - 70%
• Rural dwellers as percentage of total population – 80%
• Schools in poorest districts that are incomplete – 90%
• Eradication of mass poverty targeted by 2010 – 100%
[SOURCES: NGPES; National Human Development Report Lao PDR 2001 (UNDP)]
For more information please contact:
Mr Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha
Lao National Committee for Energy
Tel: + (856) 21 452 539
Fax: + (856) 21 415 626
Email: lnce@laotel.com
Thanousone Phonamat David Tuck
Planet Online, Vientiane Weber Shandwick, Bangkok
Tel: + 856 21 218 972-4 + 66 2257 0300 x 313
Fax: + 856 21 216 387 + 66 2257 0312
Email: ka@laopdr.com dtuck@webershandwick.com
PHOTO SHOWS:
Planet Online Managing Director Thanousone Phonamat (left) and trainer Mr Deuansavanh (right) presented certificates to Lao National Committee for Energy web team members (from left to right) Mr Chanthasone, Mr Seumsitthi and Mr Vilaboune following the completion of their web site management training course.
