The operation ceremony in Vientiane on January 29, 2024.

(KPL) Electricite du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), a joint venture between Yunnan International Co., Ltd. of China Southern Power Grid (CSG) and Lao state-run Electricite du Laos (EDL), formally went into operation at a ceremony in Vientiane on January 29, 2024.

Minister of Energy and Mines Phoxay Sayasone, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Laos Wang Chang, CSG Chairman Meng Zhenping, and EDL Managing Director Chanthaboun Soukaloun attended the ceremony.

Minister of Energy and Mines Phoxay Sayasone

Those in attendance of the event also included a group of Lao officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Lao National Assembly, the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Propaganda and Training Board of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee, and the China-Laos Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation Committee, as well as CSG Deputy Chairman Tang Yifeng.

Noting that EDL-T is a key cooperation project between Laos and China in the power sector, Phoxay said that its full operation will further bolster the collaboration between EDL and CSG, ensure the stability and reliability of the Lao power grid, enhance the regional competitiveness of Laos’ electricity industry, drive the growth of other Lao industrial sectors, and give better play to the role of the power sector in promoting economic growth in Laos.

Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Laos Wang Chang

Wang said that the cooperation project of EDL-T has been a symbol of major achievements made by China and Laos in the further improvement of their interconnection and that its full operation will fundamentally deepen bilateral cooperation in the power sector.  

He called on CSG to adhere to the principles of joint contribution, shared benefits, and win-win cooperation, share its experience with its Lao business partners in terms of power grid construction, management and operation, provide the country with higher-quality and more efficient power services, and turn the country's advantages in clean energy into economic strengths.

CSG Chairman Meng Zhenping

Meng said that the full operation of the EDL-T project has marked a new stage of win-win cooperation between China and Laos in the energy and power sectors, adding that CSG will share its technological and managerial experience with the Lao side, build the EDL-T project into a successful model of the two countries in implementing the action plan for building a community with a shared future, strengthening international cooperation in the power sector and achieving win-win cooperation, in a bid to promote economic and social development of Laos and improve the wellbeing of the Lao people.

EDL Managing Director Chanthaboun Soukaloun

Chanthaboun said that the full operation of the EDL-T project has represented an important step taken by Laos in the reform of its power sector and will further ensure the stability and reliability of the Lao power grid, bolster the country’s infrastructural interconnection with neighboring countries, promote the rational, efficient and orderly exploration, utilization and exportation of Laos’ clean energy, and achieve win-win cooperation as well as common development.

Under the supervision of the Lao government, EDL-T has served as the country's national power grid operator to invest in, construct and operate the 230kV-and-above power grids in Laos and implement grid interconnection projects between the country and its neighboring countries. It is committed to providing Laos with secure, stable and sustainable power supplies.

KPL