Xaisomboun Province

Xaisomboun (/saɪʒəʊmbuːn/ Lao ໄຊສົມບູນ) 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. Xaysomboun town in Anouvong District is the economic centre. There are extensive copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun.

Xaisomboun Province

ແຂວງ
Province
Location of Xaisomboun Province in Laos
Coordinates: 18.9057°N 103.092°E / 18.9057; 103.092
CountryLaos
Established13 December 2013
CapitalXaysomboun
Area
 • Total8,300 km2 (3,200 sq mi)
Population
 (2015 census)
 • Total85,168
 • Density10/km2 (27/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)
ISO 3166 codeLA-XS

History

Xaisomboun is the 18th 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 formally established as a province on 13 December 2013.[3] Since, the development of the hydroelectric power along the Nam Ngum River has led to around 300[4] families being relocated to Feuang District in Vientiane province. They were not compensated for the loss of their farmland.[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 Laotian 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]

Geography
Phou Bia mountain from Xaysomboun town

The province is mountainous, and to the northeast of the town of Xaysomboun is Phou Bia mountain in Xiangkhouang Province, the highest point in Laos.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Phou Khao Khouay National Biodiversity Conservation Area is a protected area 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Vientiane.[10] It was established on 29 October 1993 covering an area of 2,000 km2 extending into neighboring provinces.[11] 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.[8]

Administrative divisions

There are 96 villages. Districts are:[12]

Map Code Name Lao script
18-01Anouvong Districtເມືອງອະນຸວົງ
18-02Longchaeng Districtເມືອງລ້ອງແຈ້ງ
18-03Longxan Districtເມືອງລ້ອງຊານ
18-04Hom Districtເມືອງຮົ່ມ
18-05Thathom Districtເມືອງທ່າໂທມ

Economy

The economic centre of the province lies in Xaysomboun, Anouvong District.[3] There are copper and gold mining operations nearby at Sana Somboun, with companies such as Phu Bia Mining Limited operating.[13] Phu Kam[14] and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver are notable mines in the area, with Phu Kham mine producing 83,680 tonnes of copper concentrate and 70,787 oz of gold and Ban Houayxai Gold-Silver produciing 108,570 oz of gold and 666,628 oz of silver in 2018 respectively. 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 and improving education in the province. Phu Bia has permission to mine until at least 2021.[15]

The locals are mainly involved in cultivation, fish-raising, poultry and livestock.[16] Despite local conflict in recent years, the tourism industry is taking off in the province.[17]

References
  1. Stuart-Fox, Martin. "Historical Dictionary of Laos". Scarecrow Press. p. 385. 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. "About Xaysomboun". Tourism Laos. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  4. "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. Routledge Handbook of the Environment in Southeast Asia. Taylor & Francis. p. 398.
  6. "Laos: Chinese Embassy issues warning for Xaysomboun province June 18". Garda World. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. Google (27 August 2019). "Xaisomboun Province" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  8. "Fodor's Thailand: with Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, and Laos". Fodor's Travel Guides. 2013. p. 957.
  9. "Chinese company to develop hydropower in Xaysomboun". Vientiane Times via CGIAR. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  10. "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. p. 17.
  11. "Tiger Paper". FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Far East. 2000. p. 2.
  12. "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.
  13. "Minerals Yearbook - Area Reports: International Review: 2011". International Department Geological Survey. 2013. pp. 13–29.
  14. Frédéric Lasserre, Emmanuel Gonon, Éric Mottet (2016). "Manuel de géopolitique - 2e éd.: Enjeux de pouvoir sur des territoires" (in French). Armand Colin. p. 265.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  15. Boulom, Souksamai (7 June 2019). "Phu Bia Mining hoping to extend concession in Xaysomboun". Vientiana Times via Asia News Network. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  16. 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.
  17. "Xaysomboun province opens to tourism". TR Weekly. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2019.

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