Construction set to commence on new power plant in Champassak
Construction set to commence on new power plant in Champassak
The construction of the Nam Phak hydropower plant project in Champassak province will start this year after the developers signed the concession agreement (CA) with the Lao government last Thursday.
“Currently the developers are asking to start construction preparation, including the installation of transmission lines to the project site and the dormitories,” an official from the Energy and Mines Ministry's Energy Business Department said at the CA signing ceremony.
The agreement was sig ned between Namphak Power Co Ltd and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, attended by officials from the Japanese and Indian embassies to Laos.
The project construction is expected to be carried out over at a period of 48 months while the commercial operation date (COD) is scheduled for October 1, 2021, according to a handout.
Once construction is complete, the project will have an installed capacity of about 150 megawatts (MW); and the generated electricity will be sold to Electricite du Laos (EDL).
The Namphak Power Co Ltd will have a concession period of 27 years, starting from the COD.
The project cost is estimated at more than 1.94 trillion kip (US$243.20 million) to be invested by three shareholders, including Kobe Green Power Co Limited from Japan, which holds 15 per cent, Electricite du Laos, which holds15 percent and Nava Bharat Lao Energy Pte Ltd from Singapore, which holds the bulk of the shares at 70 percent.
Funding for the project's construction is expected to be provided in the form of sponsors equity and project fina nce debt with a target ratio of 70 percent debt and 30 percent equity, the handout noted.
Laos now has 24 operational po wer plants, from 1MW upwards, with a total installed capacity of 3,250MW. Combined, these are generating more than 16,100GWh of electricity a nnually for local and export markets.
The 24 plants include 14 under the management of independent power producers that have a combined installed capacity of about 2,859.6MW and 10 plants under the management of EDL, which have a combined installed capacity of more than 390MW.
The Lao government is actively promoting renewable energy development, including the nation's hydropower resources to increase electricity production and supply power for both domestic use and export to neighbouring coun tries.
Minister of Energy and Mines Mr Soulivong Daravong highlighted at the 29th Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting held in Brunei in 2011 that Laos can help Asean countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels, which are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions and importantly can help Asean to stabilise its pow er supply.
vientiane times
