If you build it, they will fund...

Thought this was interesting (and inevitable, given that Electricidade de France is an equity partner in the project). Credit Lyonnais (now Calyon after the merger with Credit Agricole) is in the syndicate of banks providing about $1BN in loans to the Nam Theun II dam project in Laos.

The World Bank voted to support the project with loan (and equity, perhaps) guarantees, so the original partners (EDF, a Thai developer, and the Lao gov't) will build it. Had the World Bank voted against supporting the project, it would have been built anyway by the Chinese, with far less international oversight and far less concern for limiting environmental impact. Although limiting environmental impact is admittedly hard when you are flooding a large portion of a region to create a resevoir. Anyway, the USG abstained from the vote. Didn't vote no, but didn't vote yes either. Our vote was unnecessary, however, because all other voting members voted to support.

I guess we'll need to get out to that part of the country to see it before it goes under water.