The Wildlife Conservation Society says there are between 132 to 142 wild elephants that need to be evacuated from the Nakai Plateau by mid-2008 before that area is turned into a giant reservoir for Laos' Nam Theun 2 hydro-electric dam.
The environmentalist group, which is in charge of relocating the elephants, express confidence that the evacuation will be completed on time before the 2008 monsoon rains fill up the reservoir.
Lao officials say the Nam Theun 2 dam, which is scheduled to be up and running in December 2009, is currently 50% completed but they are confident that they will meet the scheduled completion deadline for the dam to start producing electricity and transmit it to Thailand under a $200 million-a-year-purchase agreement with Thailand's EGAT.
Laos stands to receive some $2 billion from the NT2 project during the 25-year concessionary period.