Nam Ngiep 1 dam to generate electricity in 2019
Nam Ngiep 1 dam to generate electricity in 2019
Work on the Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project (NNP1) is now almost 60.30 percent complete and is expected to be approximately 90 percent complete by the end of 2017 after construction began in late 2014.
The project will start to generate electricity in January 2019 and about 95 percent of this power will be sold to Thailand and the remainder will be used for domestic consumption.
The project expects to generate more than US$600 million in direct revenue and other indirect benefits to the Lao government during its 27-year concession period, after which ownership will be transferred to the Lao government.
The information was confirmed by a project senior official at a reception on Wednesday to welcome Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his delegation.
Prime Minister Thongloun and his delegation visited the Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project to monitor the progress of construction and social aspects of the project.
They visited the NNP1 project site in Hat Ngiun village in Borikhan district, Borikhamxay province, along with ministers and deputy ministers from relevant ministries, high-ranking officials from the central and provincial levels, and shareholder representatives.
Speaking at the site, Managing Director of the Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company Limited, Mr Yoshihiro Yamabayashi, said it was a great honour to welcome the prime minister and his delegation to the NNP1 and reported on the progress of construction.
Mr Yamabayashi said the 290-megawatt hydropower project is under construction in Borikhamxay and Xaysomboun provinces. The project consists of two dams and two powerhouses along the Ngiep River in Borikhamxay province.
Some 520 households from Hatxaikham village in Borikhan district and four other villages in Hom district, Xaysomboun province, will be relocated to make way for the project.
The relocation of residents of Hatxaikham village was completed in November 2016 and the resettlement of the remaining households in Hom district is expected to be finalised by the end of the first half of 2017.
Prime Minister Thongloun visited the main dam and main powerhouse under construction, and agricultural land and houses in the Houay Soup Resettlement Area (HSRA).
Located in Borikhan district and situated immediately to the south of the NNP1 re-regulation dam, the HSRA is an area of 6,100 hectares that has been allocated to accommodate families who will be displaced by the project.
By the end of January 2017, an additional 62 households from Hom district had chosen to relocate there, while the rest chose full compensation and will voluntarily relocate elsewhere.
The NNP1 project is being built and will be operated by the Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company whose shareholders are Kansai Electric Power of Japan, EGAT International Company Limited, and Lao Holding State Enterprise.
On February 2, NNP1 also welcomed the Chairman of the EGAT International Company Limited Board of Directors and the Governor of EGAT, Mr Kornrasit Pakchotanon and his 21-member delegation.
Since the start of construction in late 2014, the company has provided livelihood improvement activities aimed at doubling the income of people within 10 years after participating in the programme.
Through training and development opportunities and a start-up fund, community members have begun to raise fish, frogs, poultry and cattle and to boost rice production through improved soil and other techniques.
They also engage in handicraft production and grow cash crops to generate extra income, and also have access to clean water and improved infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
