World Bank chief defends controversial dam

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has defended the bank’s support for a massive hydroelectric dam in Laos that has been strongly opposed by environmental and social groups.

Wolfowitz said the dam “is something that should have been done to help the poor people of Laos and Thailand”.

He added: “It will benefit more people than will be harmed by it, and a lot of care has gone to making sure that as few people as possible are harmed, and the ones that are harmed are compensated.

“My impression is that it will stand as a pretty good model of how to do that kind of development,” he said in Washington.

The World Bank approved on March 31 a $1.3bn (€1.05bn) loan for the Nam Theun 3 project, which is aimed to generate revenue for the poor Asian nation by producing surplus power for it to sell to its neighbours.

The decision was made two months before Wolfowitz became head of the bank this year.

Opponents say the project will endanger wildlife, destroy forests and cause social and economic dislocation for the about 6,000 people who will be uprooted.

Wolfowitz noted criticism of the project but said: “It’s easier to see the cost of action than the cost of inaction, but I think we have to move ahead.”