After sustained lobbying by non-governmental organisations, ( ngo s) the Asian Development Bank ( adb ) has admitted that the Theun-Hinboun hydropower project is having a negative impact on the livelihoods of thousands of people living in central Laos. The admission is particularly significant because, until recently, the adb was claiming that the project was "clean' and there was little for environmentalists lobby to criticise. The us $260 million dam, which was partially funded by adb and the Norwegian government, was completed in April 1998. ngo s have since raised concerns about the project's impact and the lack of funds to compensate villagers for their losses.

In a report based on a visit by adb staff to the project site in November 1998, the adb admitted that it had previously defined the project impact zone too narrowly and that many more villages further downstream have been affected.