Houay Lamphan Gnai hydropower plant launches operation
Houay Lamphan Gnai hydropower plant launches operation
The Houay Lamphan Gnai hydropower plant, one of the stated-owned hydropower projects, switched on its generators to commence commercial operations on Saturday in Xekong province.
The official opening ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, alongside Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthirath, Electricite du Laos (EDL) Managing Director Mr Sisavath Thiravong, the governors of four southern provinces and other invited guests.
The project's Director Mr Souliya Chanthavong told the media that the dam has a capacity of 88 MW and will be able to generate 480 GWh per year.
“The project is financed by the Lao government to a total cost of US $206 million, of which some US$199 million is a loan from China's Exim Bank while the remaining US$7 million came from EDL,” he said.
Construction of the project was carried out by the China Gezhouba Group Company Limited and scheduled to take 60 months to complete but in fact it finished ahead of schedule.
The dam is 820 metres above sea level and has a reservoir area of some seven square kilometres. The powerhouse is equipped with two sets of impulse turbines at a capacity of 44 MW each.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr Khammany said this project will play a significant role towards socio economic development in the southern provinces of Laos.
“The electricity which is generated from this plant will also help decrease imports of electricity from neigbouring countries, as well as to secure power sufficiency in the southern provinces of Laos,” he said.
According to Dr Khammany, at the beginning of next year, there will be 38 hydropower projects in operation, with an installed capacity of over 6,264 MW and capable of generating about 33,315 GWh per year.
The development of transmission lines and distribution has rapidly improved, with 53 substations currently, and the electricity distribution system extends over some 50,000 km.
Currently, about 89.6 percent of households in Laos have perm anent access to electricity, according to the Minister of Energy and Mines.
Laos aims to achieve a total installed capacity of about 12,000 MW by 2025, targeting the abundant resources of the rivers while aiming to ensure effective and environmentally friendly development.
