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Construction of country's largest power plant commences
Construction work has begun to intensify at the planned location of the Hongsa lignite-fired power plant in Xayaboury province, according to a senior provincial official.
Xayboury provincial Energy and Mines Department Director So Khamchan said yesterday that a group of about 2,000 Chinese workers had arrived and begun land clearance operations at the intended site of the 1,800 megawatt power generation facility.
“The number of Chinese workers will continue to rise as there will be more work in the future,” he told Vientiane Times , pointing out that it was a Chinese company that had won the construction contract to build Laos' largest electricity generation facility.
Mr So added that another construction project, started last year and running on schedule, will provide roads and a new settlement area for 400 villagers who were forced to give up their land and homes for the power plant development.
Deputy Director of the Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE) Mr Sayphet Amphayvanh confirmed that construction of the power plant had begun and remains on track to be completed by 2015.
“The Chinese workers work very hard, they start at 6 am and finish at 6 pm every day, so we think the construction work will completed on time or even earlier,” he said.
Mr Sayphet said that construction of the plant has been progressing smoothly since the end of last year when the Lao government granted the project developers a concession agreement and foreign financial institutions agreed to finance the project.
“We'd completed all of the legal documents, project financing and power purchasing agreements already, so there was no problem in getting the construction work up to speed very quickly.”
He added that the project developers were unable to set an exact date for the ground breaking ceremony that would mark the official start of the power plant's construction.
“We've discussed the ground breaking ceremony but are yet to agree on a date. Some of the developers wanted to wait until the middle of this year but I think the ceremony should take place within the next two months,” he said.
A senior official at the Energy Development Promotion Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines was also unable to provide any information about the ground breaking ceremony. However, he said the construction work could continue.
Construction of the plant was suspended in 2009 due to the global financial crisis and ensuing recession. The project has two parts: the supply of locally mined lignite to the plant and power generation by the plant.
LHSE has a 25 percent share in the lignite mining project and Banpu a 37.5 percent share, with the remainder belonging to RATCH.
LHSE holds a 20 percent share in the power plant, with Banpu and RATCH each holding a 40 percent share.
Most of the electricity produced by the power plant will be exported to Thailand and the rest will be used for domestic consumption.
vientiane times
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