Model of Pak Beng hydropower project 

Singkham

(KPL) The Lao government and the potential developer of a Pak Beng hydropower project met yesterday to discuss the development of the hydropower project with a focus placed on ensuring that it is sustainable, environmentally friendly, and favourable for socio-economic development.

At the Pak Beng hydropower project high-level technical workshop, the project developer “China Datang Overseas Investment” made a presentation about the Pak Beng hydropower project’s design which will feature a barrage structure, fish passage, navigation lock, and sediment passage area.

The objective of the workshop was to hear information from the world-renowned consultant French firm Compagnie Nationale du Rhône” (CNR) which has been hired by the Lao government to find out whether the project’s design is feasible and in compliance with the 1995 Mekong Agreement.

Once the project is approved by the Lao government, all information about the Pak Beng hydropower project will be submitted to Mekong River Commission member countries and international organizations so that they may comment on the project.

“Only by doing this in a transparent and highly accountable manner will the Lao PDR be allowed to develop diverse hydropower projects promptly and sustainably,” Minister of Energy and Mines, Mr Khammany Inthilath told the workshop adding that “the Pak Beng hydropower project would be constructed on the Lower Mekong River in Laos so we must comply with the 1995 Mekong Agreement.”

China Datang Overseas Investment signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Pakbeng project with the Lao government in 2007.

Following the signing, the contractor spent eight years designing the Pak Beng hydropower project as a 912-MW run-of-the-river hydropower project in Pak Beng district, Oudomxay Province.

According to the initial study, the hydropower project would be capable of generating more than 4,700 GWh per year and some 90 per cent of the generated power would be exported to Thailand with the remaining amount sold to the Electricite du Laos for domestic consumption.

The objective of the development of this project development would be to ensure that there is an adequate supply of electricity for domestic consumption and for export to generate revenues for the state treasury and contribute to national construction and development thus graduating the country from Least Developed Country Status, said Mr Khammany.

High-ranking officials from line ministries and other relevant sectors attended the workshop.

KPL