Teaching Note: Victory Dam (A): engineering development in a fragile ecosystem Victory Dam (B): strategic decisions and firm boundaries

Case Overview and Context: Victory Dam (A): Engineering Development in a Fragile Ecosystem centers on Sam, a project leader managing a megaproject hydroelectric dam in northern Laos. Laos is a small lower-middle-income country facing significant development challenges – from a turbulent economic landscape to a complex historical legacy. The nation, landlocked in Southeast Asia, was a French colony until the mid-20th century and later scarred by the Vietnam-era “Secret War,” which left it littered with unexploded ordnance. These legacies, combined with its geography and still-developing institutions, have hindered growth. By the 2010s, Laos struggled with high inflation, a weakening currency,...