Nam Tha 1 dam builders prepare to divert river
Nam Tha 1 dam builders prepare to divert river
Lao and Chinese developers working on the Nam Tha 1 hydropower plant will start diverting the Nam Tha River next week to block the waterway for the dam, which spans parts of Bokeo and Luang Namtha provinces.
The diversion will direct water through a tunnel before it re-connects. The diversion is part of construction work for the project and marks a new stage in the operation.
The Nam Tha 1 dam will have an installed capacity of 168 megawatts (MW) that will generate energy of about 759GWh annually for the national power grid, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines on Friday.
The dam is located between Pha-oudom district in Bokeo and Nalae district in Luang Namtha.
The government has given the green light for investors to build the project on the Nam Tha River in the two provinces.
The project signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the developers in August 2006 while the Project Development Agreement was signed in June 2010 and the Concession Agreement was concluded in November last year.
The concession agreement symbolised the deepening cooperation in electricity generation between China and Laos.
“The developers will own and operate the project for 28 years,” the report noted.
The project construction will take about 48 months to complete while energy generation for commercial operations will commence within 2018.
The report mentioned that the project will have an investment cost of about 3.63 trillion kip (US$447 million), including the Chinese developer.
China Southern Grid International holds 80 percent while the remaining 20 percent is held by Electricite du Laos (EDL).
A handout from the Chinese company reported that financial support for the project came via a loan from Exim Bank of China's Guangdo ng Branch.
The developers began work on the project in late 2013. A 40km access road has been built from Road No. R3 to the project site in Pha-oudom district, Bokeo province, and some communities have been relocated.
The project includes the construction of a 115-kV transmission line with a length of 82km from the powerhouse to the substation in Huayxai district of Bokeo and another 115-kV transmission line 40km in length from the powerhouse to another substation in Luang Namtha.
The project should be finished within the set timeframe so that commercial operations can begin in the near future. The investors intend to source construction materials locally whenever possible.
The investors also employ more than 900 local people to work on the project. The government intends to use the profits from hydropower sales to fight poverty in the country.
In recent years, the energy sector has played a part in social development, notably in the fields of education, human resources, health care, and job creation.
Twenty-seven power plants are currently operational with an installed capacity of about 3,304MW, including 11 plants that have an installed capacity of 405MW which are operated by EDL.
The other 16 plants, which have a combined installed capacity of 2,899MW, are operated by independent power producers.
Laos is aiming for total installed capacity o f about 12,000MW by 2025, the Ministry of Energy and Mines' report noted.
The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000MW of electricity.
