Where is the economy zone Muang ton peun anyway ??
Muong Tonepheung is a small town in Huay Xay, province of Luang Namtha. this town is same Tha Deua Vientiane and Nong Khay, that why they use only US dollar, Thai and chinese currancies. Muong Tonepheung is far awy from Laos government that's why they not use lao KIP money. Soon or later Luang Namtha will be another province of China.
ຖ້າເຂດເສດຖະກິດພິເສດນີ້ຢູ່ໃນເຂດ3ລ່ຽມທອງຄຳ ເງິນກີບບໍ່ຕ້ອງເວົ້າເຖິງດອກ, ແຕ່ກ່ອນກະຄືກັນ ເຂົາຊິເວົ້າແຕ່ເງິນບາດກັບດອັນ ດຽວນີ້ມີເງິນຢວນເຂົ້າມາເພີ້ມອີກກໍ່ຖືເປັນການດີເພາະປະຊາຊົນທ້ອງຖິ່ນແລະນັກທ່ອງທ່ຽວມີທາງເລືອກຕື່ມອີກ. ແຕ່ກ່ອນເຂດນີ້ແມ່ນຢູ່ໃນການຄອບຄຸມເບິ່ງແຍງຂອງຂຸນຊ່າ, ຫລັງຈາກຂຸນຊ່າແຂວນນວມແລ້ວກໍ່ຍົກໃຫ້ມືຂວາຂອງຕົນຊື່ວ່າໜໍ່ຄຳ(Naw Kham) ເປັນຜູ່ສືບຕຳແນ່ງ. ກອງໂຈນໜໍ່ຄຳນີ້ເປັນສັດຕູໂຕຮ້າຍກາດຂແງພໍ່ຄ້າຈີນ, ຜ່ານມາເຮືອສິນຄ້າຂອງຈີນກໍ່ຖືກກອງໂຈນນີ້ຈີ້ເພື່ອທວງເອົາຄ່າຄຸ້ມຄອງ ແຕ່ຈີນບໍ່ຍອມໃຫ້ຈຶ່ງໄດ້ເກີດການຕໍ່ສູ້ກັນຈົນເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ຕຳລວດຈີນທີ່ຄຸ້ມຄອງເຮືອສິນຄ້າຕາຍແລະບາດເຈັບຫລາຍຄົນ. Jungle gang Naw Kham's militia, with at most 50 men and their family members, was run more like a gang than a fighting force. Yet he is known to have received generous support from villagers and influential businessmen in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand who are believed to have benefited from his drug trafficking activities. With his ability to move and operate in an area patrolled by three sovereign countries, he almost certainly also received protection from certain Myanmar, Lao and/or Thai security officials.
Some of that support arose from Naw Kham's charisma and business savvy; his extortion rackets and drug trafficking activities are believed to have generated rich profits. More significantly, he was able to tap a growing undercurrent of resentment about China's growing commercial influence in the Mekong region. Many villagers in the area were happy to see him "tax" Chinese cargo vessels, which often carried products that undercut the price of their local foods and wares.
He is known to have a particular following in the Tonpheung district in Laos' northwestern Bokeo province, where a huge Chinese casino and hotel project has forced many from their homes with little or no compensation. As an added insult, the Chinese company responsible for the project imported Chinese workers for the project instead of hiring displaced and underemployed local villagers.
Some say the displaced villagers saw Naw Kham as the only way to challenge the Chinese investors, who are working hand-in-hand with the Lao government through a concession arrangement. Sources along the border say that villagers have supported some of Naw Kham's operations, including allegedly the 2008 attack on the Chinese patrol boat. According to SHAN's Khunsai, the gunmen were Naw Kham's in that particular incident, but they were given back-up support from Lao villagers.
They are battling against big money interests. The four-star, 689-room hotel and casino is being constructed by the Kings Romans Group Co Ltd (also known as the Dokngiewkham Company) and is expected to open in the coming months and be fully operational by 2010. Provincial vice governor Amphone Chanhthasomboun told the Vientiane Times in August that the project would cost about US$300 million, although other in-the-know sources predict the project is worth closer to $200 million.
The casino and hotel are only the start of a Chinese-financed new town on the Mekong, situated around 46 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital of Huay Xai. A 827-hectare concession, granted by the Lao government in 2007, gives the Chinese company rights for 50 years with an option to extend for an additional 25 years.
The Lao government retains a 20% share in the so-called "economic zone", which will entail 47 projects, including hotels, golf courses, shopping centers, schools, universities, hospitals and water systems. The entire project is slated for completion in 2018 and will include investment of $2.2 billion. Huay Xai's rundown airfield is also scheduled to be upgraded to an international airport as part of the broad scheme.
The enterprise, some in Laos fear, will be similar to Boten in Laos' Luang Nam Tha province, where Lao villagers were forcibly displaced and now live in a shantytown to make way for a Chinese-invested casino, hotel and shopping area populated almost exclusively by Chinese visitors. What happened at Boten is well known in Bokeo province and has fueled resentment against Chinese in northern Laos, where growing numbers of migrants are settling and seen to be dominating business opportunities.
Local resentment over Chinese investment and settlement has been compounded by China's controversial control over the upper reaches of the Mekong, where Beijing has erected a series of dams that environmentalists say has adversely altered the river's flow. Locals claim that water levels are adequate when Chinese vessels are scheduled to travel down the river, but are lower when Thai vessels attempt to make the trip upstream. Chinese officials counter that only 18% of the Mekong's flow originates in China and so its dams do not significantly affect downstream water levels.
The Mekong has in recent years become a profitable transportation route between northern Thailand and China's otherwise remote and landlocked southwestern Yunnan province. The river route became economically viable after the dredging and blasting of river rapids in Laos and Myanmar in 2004. China sees the route as an outlet for manufactured goods from Yunnan and to import agricultural products and fuel from Thailand. Although a faster land route linking China and Thailand through northwestern Laos was completed last year, the lack of a bridge across the Mekong means that the river route is still profitable.
It will likely be more so with Naw Kham's extortion racket driven out of the area. Naw Kham is still at large and was always a small player in a region increasingly being driven by big powers. Yet he captured the imagination of many locals fuming over the perceived exploitative nature of growing Chinese investments in the Golden Triangle area.