Industry expansion driven by processing and electricity
Industry expansion driven by processing and electricity
The government believes that the processing industries operating in the nation's special and specific economic zones as well as rising electricity exports are the main factors driving expansion in the industrial sector in Laos.
Next year, the government is aiming for the sector to expand by a predicted 8.9 percent, representing 37.2 percent of national GDP.
By comparison, the industry sector saw growth of 9 percent in the previous year, Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Souphanh Keomixay reported at the ongoing NA meeting.
Electricity generation in the last nine months was able produce 16,519 million KWh, an increase of 72.06 percent compared to the same period last year.
It is expected that this fiscal year some 23,120 million KWh will stem from annual electricity generation, an increase on top of the annual plan of some 12.7 percent.
The reason electricity generation is rising in this period is that a number of newly completed hydropower plants are coming online for commercial generation.
These include the Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Plant with an installed capacity of 1,878MW, Nam Khan II Hydropower Plant (130MW), Nam Ngiep II Hydroelectric Plant (180MW), as well as the Nam Ou Hydropower plants 2,5 and 6 (540MW), according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines .
Some 42 hydropower plants with a generating capacity of 1MW or greater have been completed in Laos so far, with a combined generation capacity of 6,390MW and an estimated value of US$10 billion.
Another 48 projects are currently under construction with an installation capacity of 5,728MW. Once complete, these projects will be able to generate additional electricity totaling 26,885 GWh a year.
Of these projects, most are proceeding according to plan and a number are nearing completion and may commence generation this year, including the Nam Kong 2, Xe Khamane 1 and Nam Mang 1.
In addition, another 78 hydropower projects are currently under feasibility study, of which 49 projects have seen memorandums of understanding already signed while 29 projects have concluded project development agreements.
Government officials believe that the energy sector will be the major engine of growth in the coming years.
Meanwhile the numbers of special and specific economic zones across the country currently stands at 12, with US$1.6 billion raised from domestic and foreign private and state investment.
Of the operational businesses in the nation's special and specific economic zones, 38 percent are in the service sector, 34 percent are in industry and 28 percent are commerce related.
Different manufacturers in the zones are processing their products for domestic supply and also for export, while private investment in the processing industry within the country is continuing to increase.
As for expansion in the industry sector, the government has predicted that the total value of exports will reach US$4,459 million next year.
