Asian bank funds 290-MW Nam Ngiep 1 hydro project in Laos VIENTIANE, Laos
08/29/2014
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide assistance totaling US$217 million to support construction of the 290-MW Nam Ngiep 1 hydroelectric project on the Nam Ngiep River in Laos.
Japanese construction company Obayashi last year won a contract to provide civil engineering works for Nam Ngiep 1 in Xaysomboun and Bolikhamxay provinces. The project is being developed by Nam Ngiep 1 Power Co. Ltd., which is jointly owned by Kansai Electric Power of Japan, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and Lao Holding State Enterprise.
ADB is supporting Nam Ngiep 1 under a public-private partnership arrangement. The bank is providing an assistance package consisting of a US$50 million direct loan, a 3.04 billion baht (US$95 million) loan, and a B loan of US$72 million funded by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank Ltd., with ADB acting as lender of record. The project also will be financed by Japan Bank for International Cooperation and four Thai banks.
The project is to include a main power station, a reservoir of 67 square kilometers, a re-regulation power station and a 125-kilometer transmission line to connect to the Nabong substation near Vientiane.
Upon completion in 2019, the project is to supply the bulk of its power to Thailand with part of its generation to be used domestically to raise Laos' household electrification rate.
World Bank supports Laos' hydropower, mining sectors
The government of Laos also signed an agreement in which the World Bank is to continue technical assistance under a program to build the capacity of Laos' hydropower and mining sectors.
The World Bank approved US$17.8 million in additional financing to the hydropower and mining sectors project.
With financing from the World Bank's International Development Association, Laos' Institute of Renewable Energy Promotion last year took bids to become investor-operator of two micro-hydropower projects in Laos' Houaphan Province. The World Bank's International Finance Corp. also recruited consultants to serve as stakeholder engagement/communications specialist for the hydropower and forestry sectors in Laos.
http://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2014/08/asian-bank-funds-290-mw-nam-ngiep-1-hydro-project-in-laos.html