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Ratchaburi to boost investment in Lao energy
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc (RATCH), the largest electricity generator in Thailand, has approved investment funding of about 540 billion kip (2 billion Thai baht) to build the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power plant in Laos.
The power plant development project in the southern Lao province of Attapeu will increase the company's electricity generation capacity to 5,648 megawatts based on its shareholdings in existing plants and new ones under development, RATCH CEO Mr Noppol Milinthanggoon said last week.
“The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy project marks a significant milestone in the company's investment expansion in Laos,” he was quoted as saying in the Bangkok Post on Friday.
According to RATCH, it will hold 25 percent of the new joint operating company for the 390 megawatt electricity plant. Korea-based SK Engineering and Construction will control 26 percent, 25 percent will be owned by Korea Western Power (Kowepo), and 24 percent by Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE).
A memorandum of understanding on tariffs between the joint venture and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) was signed last August and they expect to conclude a power purchase agreement with Egat by the end of this year.
The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy plant is located in an area straddling Attapeu and Champassak provinces.
The facility is scheduled to start producing electricity by 2018, which will be transmitted via Egat's 500-kilovolt lines in Ubon Ratchathani province. Thai authorities have already included output from the plant in the national Power Development Plan that was updated in 2010.
Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy is the fourth investment project by RATCH in Laos following the Nam Ngum 2 and 3 hydroelectric plants and the Hongsa lignite coal-fired power plant.
The lignite-fired plant is currently under construction in Hongsa district, Xayaboury province. Once construction is complete, the plant will become the largest electricity generating facility in Laos with a total capacity of 1.8 MW.
According to Ratch Laos, the local subsidiary of RATCH, the company has provided a grant of 20 million Thai baht to the Lao governm ent to develop human resources, which will provide a skilled workforce to help operate power plants in Laos .
The company's Managing Director Mr Jatuporn Soparaksa told Vientiane Times recently that RATCH supported human resource development because it wants to invest and do business in Laos over a long period of time.
The Lao people will benefit from the Thai company's funding of the mega investment project because it will provide jobs, he said.
However, according to the report on Employment and Livelihoods 2009, the massive investment in the electricity sector has so far created very few jobs. Many investors are reluctant to hire local people as they believe they do not have the necessary skills.
vientiane times
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