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Xaisomboun province

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Xaisomboun (Lao: ໄຊສົມບູນ, pronounced [sáj.sǒm.bùːn]) is a mountainous province in central Laos, between Vientiane province and Xiangkhouang province. The province covers an area of 8,300 square kilometres (3,200 sq mi) and had a population of 85,168 in 2015. Xaisomboun town in Anouvong District is the economic centre. There are extensive copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun.

Xaisomboun Province
Province
Map showing Xaisomboun province in Laos
Location of Xaisomboun province in Laos
Coordinates: 18°54′21″N 103°05′31″E / 18.9057°N 103.092°E / 18.9057; 103.092
CountryLaos
Established13 December 2013
CapitalXaisomboun town
Area
 • Total
8,551 km2 (3,302 sq mi)
Population
 (2020 census)
 • Total
107,926
 • Density13/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)
ISO 3166 codeLA-XS

History

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Xaisomboun is the 18th and newest province of Laos. It was designated special administrative zone between June 1994 and 2006, with the military controlling the area to suppress Hmong resistance and to exploit timber resources.[1] Many Hmong locals fled Laos during this period, taking refuge in Phetchabun, Thailand.[2]

Xaisomboun was established as a province on 13 December 2013.[3] Since then, dam construction on the Nam Ngum River led to around 300 families being relocated to Feuang District in Vientiane province.[4] They were not compensated for the loss of their land.[5]

The province has long been a hotbed for conflict between the government and the Hmong peoples. In November 2015, unrest broke out in the province, killing three soldiers and three civilians. The Lao government imposed a curfew in the north-central part of the province in early-December, but in January 2016 a bomb was set off at a road construction site near Pha Nok Nok village in Long Cheang District, killing two Chinese officials and injuring another. As a result, on 16 February 2016, Major General Thongloy Silivong, a military officer who is the former chief of the National Defense Academy, was appointed the governor of Xaisomboun to tighten control.[4] On 16 June 2017, another Chinese official was shot dead in the province.[6]

Since 2019, the government has been exploring options to develop the tourism industry in the province, resulting in further displacement of the Hmong population, especially near Phou Bia.[7]

Geography

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Phou Bia mountain from Xaysomboun town

The province is mountainous. To the northeast of the town of Xaisomboun in neighbouring Xiangkhouang province is Phou Bia Mountain—at 2,819 m (9,249 ft) the highest point in Laos.[8] The principal river, the Nam Ngum, has been subject to a hydroelectric scheme with the creation of a dam and large reservoir and an underground power plant.[9] In March 2014 it was announced that the Chinese company, Norinco International Cooperation, Ltd., had invested US$218 million in the development, projected to take 42 months.[10]

Phou Khao Khouay National Biodiversity Conservation Area is a protected area 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Vientiane.[11] It was established on 29 October 1993 covering an area of 2,000 km2 extending into neighboring provinces.[12] It has a large stretch of mountain range with sandstone cliffs, river gorges and three large rivers with tributaries which flow into the Mekong River.[9]

Administrative divisions

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There are 96 villages. Districts are:[13]

Map Code Name Lao script
18-01 Anouvong District ເມືອງອະນຸວົງ
18-02 Longchaeng District ເມືອງລ້ອງແຈ້ງ
18-03 Longxan District ເມືອງລ້ອງຊານ
18-04 Hom District ເມືອງຮົ່ມ
18-05 Thathom District ເມືອງທ່າໂທມ

Economy

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The economic centre of the province lies in Xaisomboun town, Anouvong District.[3] There are copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun, with companies such as Phu Bia Mining Limited operating.[14] Phu Kam and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver are notable mines in the area, with the Phu Kham mine producing 83,680 tonnes of copper concentrate and 70,787 ounces of gold and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver producing 108,570 oz of gold and 666,628 oz of silver in 2018.[15] The Phu Bia Mining Company began operations in 2006 and as of June 2019 had given nearly 6,248 trillion kip (US$716 million) in cumulative contributions to the government, generating over 3200 jobs for mainly Hmong locals. Phu Bia has permission to mine until at least 2021.[16]

The locals are mainly involved in cultivation, fish-raising, poultry and livestock.[17] Despite local conflict in recent years, the tourism industry is taking off in the province.[18]

In 2021, Xaisomboun provincial officials announced the development of Phou Bia Mountain as a "sustainable development tourism site", valued at some US$500 million. The development will center on Phou Houa Xang Village, in Anouvong District, Xaisomboun, under a 99 year concession.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Stuart-Fox, Martin (6 February 2008). Historical Dictionary of Laos. Scarecrow Press. p. 385. ISBN 9780810864115. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  2. ^ Sommer, Rebecca (2006). "Report on the Situation in the Xaysomboun Special Zone and 1100 Hmong-Lao Refugees who Escaped to Petchabun, Thailand 2004-2005". Earth Peoples. pp. 1–8.
  3. ^ a b "About Xaysomboun". Tourism Laos. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b "New governor appointed to ensure security in Laos' Xaysomboun province". Radio Free Asia via RefWorld, UN Refugee Agency. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  5. ^ Hirsch, Philip (13 September 2016). Routledge Handbook of the Environment in Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 398. ISBN 9781315474885.
  6. ^ "Laos: Chinese Embassy issues warning for Xaysomboun province June 18". Garda World. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. ^ "UNPO: Hmong in Isolation: Atrocities against the Hmong in Laos". unpo.org. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  8. ^ "Xaisomboun province" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  9. ^ a b Fodor's Thailand: with Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, and Laos. Fodor's Travel Guides. 2013. p. 957. ISBN 9780770432072.
  10. ^ "Chinese company to develop hydropower in Xaysomboun". Vientiane Times. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2019 – via CGIAR.
  11. ^ Land and forestland allocation policy: impacts on land use practices in Hatkhai and Yang-Khoua villages. Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University. 2004. p. 17. ISBN 9789746565882.
  12. ^ "Tiger Paper". FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Far East. 2000. p. 2.
  13. ^ "Old and new geographical delimitations and administrative districts of the new Xaisomboun province after 2014". Official Laos Government Presentation. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  14. ^ Minerals Yearbook - Area Reports: International Review: 2011. International Department Geological Survey. 2013. pp. 13–29. ISBN 9781411336681.
  15. ^ Frédéric Lasserre; Emmanuel Gonon; Éric Mottet (2016). Manuel de géopolitique: Enjeux de pouvoir sur des territoires (in French) (2nd ed.). Armand Colin. p. 265. ISBN 9782200615734.
  16. ^ Boulom, Souksamai (7 June 2019). "Phu Bia Mining hoping to extend concession in Xaysomboun". Vientiana Times. Retrieved 27 August 2019 – via Asia News Network.
  17. ^ Bouapao, Lilao (2005). Rural development in Lao PDR: managing projects for integrated sustainable livelihoods. Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University. ISBN 9789746567886.
  18. ^ "Xaysomboun province opens to tourism". TR Weekly. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  19. ^ Thanabouasy, Phayboune (22 January 2021). "Unrest in Xaysomboun Province Now Resolved". The Laotian Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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