Three Rivers Dams (13)
The other big village besides Sre Kor (see here) which will be drowned by the 335 square kilometers of the reservoir of the Sesan2 dam which was approved by the Cambodian government recently is called Kbal Romea. It is a Phnong community, stretched out along a dirt road covered by big trees, with the river flowing on one side, and with its ricefields neatly aligned on the other. Not much activity going on at this time of the year though, besides a few houses distilling rice wine.
The 400 Megawatt Sesan2 dam project was subject to an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) done by Key Consultants Cambodia and if indeed it seems the initial report published in 2008 was in compliance with the standards of the Ministry of Environment, it appeared to be well below international standards, and had to be revised several times until it was finally approved in June 2010. The estimated cost of the 75 meter high and 7 kilometer long dam will be 816 million US$ and put nearly 3,000 people at work. One of the main stakeholders in the joint venture is Okhna Kith Meng’s Royal Group.
