Revenue from Hongsa power plant set to spur development
Revenue from Hongsa power plant set to spur development
The government will receive over US$2.3 billion in taxes from the Hongsa Power Company Limited under the 25 year concession agreement running from 2016-2041 for the newly built Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Plant.
This revenue will be a huge boost to socio-economic development, especially infrastructure development, and will enable the expansion of trade, services and investment.
The Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Project in Hongsa district, Xayaboury province, is the biggest thermal power plant in the country. The investment cost totals US$3.7 billion and the plant has a total installed capacity of 1,878 MW.
The project will substantially increase electricity exports and enhance Laos' reputation as a major energy producer in Asean, Minister of Energy and Mines Dr Khammany Inthirath said last week when addressing the official opening ceremony of commercial operation of the coal-fired plant.
The plant would contribute to the local economy and hasten the progress of the government's policy implementation and rural development strategy, especially village development. Spin-offs from the plant would strengthen village groups and help to reduce poverty, improve people's living conditions and be a catalyst for new development, Dr Khammany said.
After construction of the plant began in 2011, it created job opportunities for local people especially youth, enabling them to earn more money and have long-term jobs, Dr Khammany said.
The company had provided new houses for the 450 families who had to relocate to make way for the project and had helped to develop infrastructure and provide health care. The company also built roads, a school, a temple, a market, a dispensary and installed clean water and electricity supplies.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines would continue to develop the country's hydropower and thermal energy resources to boost energy exports and supply sufficient electricity for Laos. This would also bring in more revenue for the government's development budget.
Under the government and Party's guidelines, the production of electricity had continually developed and expanded, Dr Khammany said.
Laos currently has 38 hydropower and thermal energy plants with an installed capacity of 6,264MW able to produce 33,315 million GWh a year. Compared to 1975 this was a 200-fold increase.
Today, 89 percent of families across the country have access to electricity, he added.
