LAOS has submitted plans to build a new hydropower dam later this year and started consultations with the Mekong River Commission (MRC).
The hydropower project is the sixth proposal out of nine planned mainstream Mekong River dams in Laos.
The MRC said the Sanakham hydropower plant, estimated to cost US$2.073 billion, would be developed by Datang Sanakham Hydropower, which is a subsidiary of China's Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd.
Based on the plans, the run-of-river dam will operate all year round and produce 684 mega-watts of electricity.
Chinese news agency Xinhua said that in the notification submitted to the MRC Secretariat based here, the Laos government would provide engineering and technical feasibility studies.
These included the project's social and environmental impact assessments, and sediment and fisheries study,
The construction is expected to begin later this year.
It is projected to be completed by 2028, which is the year the commercial operations are also set to begin.
The energy generated by the project will mainly be exported to Thailand.
The prior consultation process normally lasts six months but could be extended further by the Joint Committee.
It is not meant to approve or disapprove the proposed project, but can propose changes.
The Sanakham project is 1,737km from the sea and about 155km north of the capital.
The MRC is an intergovernmental organisation for regional dialogue and cooperation in the lower Mekong river basin.
It was established in 1995 based on the Mekong Agreement between Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Laos had already completed two dams on the Mekong River — the 1,285 megawatt Xayaburi Dam and the 260 megawatt Don Sahong Dam last year.
Environmental groups have opposed the dams, saying it threatens a river system whose fisheries, sediment and seasonal flooding for agriculture supported about 60 million people.
China has funded several hydropower projects in Laos and also built 11 dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong River in China.
These dams have come under scrutiny for allegedly altering the river's natural flow.