|
Laos: Energy developer proceeds with Nam Phay hydro plant
A Chinese energy developer, Norinco International Co-operation Ltd, has signed a project development agreement with the Lao government for the Nam Phay hydropower project after completing a feasibility study.
The company signed the agreement with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on Tuesday, after signing a memorandum of understanding with the ministry in 2009 to conduct a feasibility study on the project in Xaysomboun district, Vientiane province.
“The project will involve an investment of about 1.8 trillion kip (US$224 million) and the Lao government will hold 20 percent of the share,” an Energy Business Department official said yesterday.
The project development agreement, which will be valid for 18 months, allows Norinco to assess electricity tariffs with Electricite du Laos (EDL), who will purchase the power generated.
Norinco will also have to source funding for the project, constructor, and environmental and social impact studies, a feasibility study and project design.
Once this has been done, further agreements will be made, including a concession agreement between Norinco and the Lao government to allow construction to begin.
“The project is expected to start commercial operation in 2016,” the official said.
The power plant will have an installed capacity of 86 megawatts (MW) and will generate electricity for supply to local households and industries.
Norinco will operate and own the project for 30 years, including the construction period.
The government is promoting the rapid development of small and medium sized power plants for local supply to reduce the need for imported electricity.
As an example of this, a small hydropower project on the Long River in Luang Namtha province is expected to become operational in 2013 and will see 85 percent of the province's people gain access to electricity by 2015.
Energy and Mines Deputy Minister Mr Khammany Inthirath said on Monday at a ceremony to mark EDL's 50th anniversary and the opening of its new headquarters that Laos has 16 hydropower plants with installed capacity of 2,564MW that can generate 12,821 million kWh per year. Nine of these plants are directly managed by EDL.
Laos also has 37 small scale hydropower plants, with installed capacity of not more than 1MW, with a total capacity of 6.59MW.
Mr Khammany said 3,000 million kWh of electricity generated is used for domestic consumption, while about 7,000 to 9,000 million kWh is exported.
vientiane times
|
