More than 100 families in northern Laos displaced by the Laos-China Railway have refused to move into newly constructed resettlement villages, a statement from the chairman of the State Audit Organization said.
Residents told Radio Free Asia that the reason behind their refusal is because the new homes are not located near land suitable for farming.
The high-speed railway connecting Laos to China is among Beijing’s most ambitious investment forays into Southeast Asia. The US$6 billion project stretches 410 km (255 miles) from the Lao-China border to the Lao capital, Vientiane.
The Lao-China Railway Company built two resettlement villages for 242 families in Luang Namtha and Oudomxay provinces, but only 130 families have moved in, the statement from chairman Khamphanh Phommathat said.
“A new resettlement village in Luang Namtha Province has a total of 159 houses, 65 of which have been occupied; the remaining 94 have not,” he said. “A new resettlement village in Oudomxay Province has a total of 83 houses, 65 of which have been occupied, the remaining 18 have not.”
The statement also noted that all 107 houses in a resettlement village in Luang Prabang province were occupied.
No farmland
Though the authorities are pushing the displaced people to move into their new homes, many are hesitant because the new villages lack fertile land for farming, an owner of a new home in the Na Teuy resettlement village in Luang Namtha told RFA Lao on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
“The new place is also too far away from the city, markets and schools,” the resident said. “It’s too far. There is no land to farm. It’s just a house in which we can sleep. We can’t do anything else.”
Some of the people refusing to move are trying to sell their new homes in the resettlement villages, a resident who lives near Na Teuy said on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“Some people from other areas have been in the process of buying these homes,” the second resident said. “Some of the families have already sold their new homes and they want to buy new homes and new pieces of land somewhere near the city instead.”
In Luang Namtha Province, only a small number of families have moved into the new village, an official of the Lao government, who is a mediator between the affected villagers and the railway company, explained.
“About 11 families are moving in soon, but for various reasons, the majority of them are not ready to move in yet,” the official said. “The authorities will keep pushing them to move into all the 159 homes.”
A new homeowner in Na Mor resettlement village in Oudomxay Province told RFA There were about 18 families who have not moved into their new homes in the Na Mor Resettlement Village.
“Most of the families displaced by the railway in our district have moved in the new village,” an official from Na Mor district said. “In Na Teuy District, Luang Namtha Province, the majority of families have not occupied their new homes.”
In his statement, the chairman of the State Audit Organization said that most of the compensation has been paid to the people who were affected and displaced by the construction of the Laos-China Railway.
The Laos-China Railway Company is meant to pay a total of 1,844 billion kip (US$89 million) to all the affected villagers. So far, about 1,552 billion kip ($75 million) has been paid to 6,073 families and about 695 families have not yet been paid.
RFA reported in August that hundreds of landowners, especially in capital Vientiane, have not accepted any compensation because they believe that the offer is too low.
Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.