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PCL Accredited in Cambodia
December 15, 2006 - PCL has received accreditation as a commercial clearance agency in Cambodia.
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Nam Theun 2 Power Project Press Release
September 14, 2006 - As progress continues on the Nam Theun 2 Power Project in Khammouane Province changes continue to occur in the lives of resettled villagers. Approximately 6,000 people living in 18 affected villages are in the process of moving to newly-constructed homes located beyond the boundaries of a future reservoir.
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| Laos PDR |
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A brief history of war:
Lao PDR suffered intense ground battles and extensive bombing during the Indochina wars, especially during the years 1964 – 1973. The fighting left widespread contamination by unexploded ordnance which, thirty years later, continues to cause death and injury. Indeed, Laos retains the dubious distinction of being one of, if not the most, heavily bombed nation on earth, witnessing over 580,000 individual bombing missions. An estimated 30% of all the ordnance dropped on Laos during this period did not explode.
During the years of war, Laos became a vital staging ground and gateway for North Vietnamese troops, munitions and supplies necessary to fuel the struggle in the south. Laos became witness to incredibly intense bombing campaigns by the United States and in addition to general purpose high explosive orndance, the US intensivly dropped defoliants and other chemical weapons such as phosphorus.
Lao PDR is one of the least developed countries in the world. The Laos Government has recognised the need to develop integrated economic and social policies designed to alleviate the poverty experienced by the population of rural Laos. One of the factors hindering a solution to the issues of poverty and food security for the rural population is the legacy of UXO remaining from the Indo-China wars.
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The Unexploded Ordnance threat:
Choke points such as Sepon in eastern Savannahkhet were particularly targeted. One 2 kilometer stretch alone received an estimated 21,000 tons of air-dropped bombs during a one month period; an average seven hundred bombs a day, or one every two minutes.
From 1965 to 1973, while carrying out Operations Steel Tiger and Tiger Hound the US dropped 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos. While the Ho Chi Minh trail was at it's highest usage in 1868, it is estimated that 150,000 Vietnamese traversed the trail. In response, the US dropped 170,000 tons of ordnance on the portion of the trail that runs through Laos in the same year.
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