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ADB funds hydropower project in central province
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Vietnam with a 196 million USD loan to build the Song Bung 4 hydroelectric power plant in central Quang Nam province.
An agreement to this effect was signed in Hanoi on Oct. 6 by Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam , Nguyen Van Giau, and the ADB Country Director for Vietnam , Ayumi Konishi.
The project, which is located in one of the poorest and most remote parts of central Vietnam , has a total investment of 265.9 million USD, including 69.9 million USD sourced from the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN).
Construction of the 156 MW plant is scheduled to commence later this year and be completed by 2013.
Giau said the project will not only generate a stable source of electricity, but will also set an example for environmentally-sustainable and socially inclusive hydropower development.
In addition to funding the plant’s construction, the project will help to improve living conditions among local ethnic minorities by building settlement areas and upgrading health care, education and transport facilities in the region.
According to SBV leaders, ADB is the first international financial institution to have financed a hydroelectric project in Vietnam . Last year, the bank also provided 931 million USD for the Mong Duong 1 thermoelectric project.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ayumi Konishi said, “We hope ADB’s financing of a hydropower project developed by EVN will provide comfort for other lenders to finance additional power generation projects developed by EVN in the future.”
VNA
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