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Lao, Thai hydropower developers ink construction deal
Electricite du Laos (EDL) on Monday signed an engineering procurement and construction contract for the Nam Sana hydropower project with Nawarat Patanakarn Public Company Limited of Thailand.
The agreement gives Nawarat the green light to build the hydropower plant after completing a feasibility study, including design and social and environmental impact assessments, which began in 2009.
“We expect construction to be completed within the next 32 months,” Nawarat Director and President Mr Polpat Kamasuta said at the signing ceremony in Vientiane.
EDL's investment in the project will be about 241 billion kip (US$30 million).
“The money for the investment was secured in the form of a loan from a Thai bank,” EDL Managing Director Mr Khammany Inthirath said.
The loan was approved last year and EDL will have 10 years to repay it.
Commercial operation of the power station is expected to begin in early 2014 in Kasy district, Vientiane province. The plant will have a capacity of 14 megawatts (MW) with two turbines that will generate about 49.6GWh per year.
The electricity generated will be carried on EDL's grid of 22KV voltage transmission lines and will supply Kasy district.
The project is very important for Vientiane province, which is experiencing fast and widespread economic growth.
It is one of the smaller sized power plants the government is promoting to provide local energy supplies and reduce the country's reliance on imported electricity. These plants have capacities that range from 2 to 100MW.
Since early this year, EDL has signed a number of agreements on energy projects.
EDL signed a shareholders' agreement with a Chinese company for the Nam Ngiep 2 hydropower development project - based in Xieng Khuang province - at a cost of about 2.8 trillion kip (US$345 million).
It also entered into a power purchase agreement with a joint venture hydropower company for the Nam Sim hydropower plant in Huaphan province, and a separate power purchase agreement with Hongsa Power Co Ltd to purchase 100MW of electricity from the lignite-fired power plant that is currently being built in Hongsa district, Xayaboury province.
EDL has collaborated with another Chinese company and secured a loan from a Chinese bank for the seven hydropower plants to be built on the Nam Ou River in Phongsaly and Luang Prabang provinces, at an estimated cost of more than 16 trillion kip (US$2 billion).
In addition, Electricite du Laos has teamed up with a local company and signed a concession agreement with the Lao government to develop the Nam Long hydropower plant in Luang Namtha province, for over 110 billion kip (US$13.7 million).
Laos will witness the opening of at least two new power plants each year between now and 2020.
In 2006 the country had only 10 power plants with a total capacity of 700MW. Now it has 14 plants with a total capacity of 2,540MW.
vientiane times
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