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Laos to expand power supply to neighbors
Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh told The Nikkei Sunday evening that Laos will significantly expand the amount of power it will provide to its neighboring countries from 2011, using the revenue to accelerate infrastructure development.
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| Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh |
Currently, the southeast Asian nation mainly supplies electric power to Thailand, but it will begin supplying power in earnest to Vietnam and Cambodia as well. Laos aims to expand its power-generation capacity for exports by 640% in 2020 from the level forecast for the current year.
Laos has abundant water resources and is very strong in the field of hydraulic power generation, Bouasone said in the interview, held in the country's capital of Vientiane.
Laos expects to post average economic growth of 8% a year over the five years through 2015.
The prime minister said the country plans to continue building more dams and other power-generation infrastructure while paying attention to the environment, and is looking to increase its power-generation capacity by 600% from the current level to 18 million kilowatts in 2020.
These moves suggest Laos is trying to enhance its diplomatic influence in the field of energy by deepening ties with its neighbors.
Nikkei
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