(KPL/VNA) Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung inspected the construction of and assessed challenges facing several Vietnamese-invested projects in southern Laos on September 7-8.

On September 7, he visited the Kaleum coal mine operated by Phonesack company and the proposed site for the Kaleum Coal Fired Power Plant now being developed in Sekong province.

The mine's current maximum annual capacity is about 20 million tonnes, of which 3 million tonnes are sold to Vietnam.

The Petrovietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) is seeking lending partners to invest in the project and participate in its management, operation, and maintenance. Construction on the 4.06-billion-USD project is expected to begin in April 2025, and its first turbine is hoped to become operational in January 2028.

In the afternoon, the minister visited a bauxite mining and alumina processing complex, one of Vietnam’s largest projects in Laos, of Viet Phuong Group in Sekong’s Dakcheung district. The total projected investment is about 1 billion USD, and exports are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

Thanking the Vietnam-Laos and Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Committees for their support, the group’s leader proposed the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment facilitate the implementation of the Lakmang Thermal Power Plant project, with a capacity of approximately 600 MW, to supply electricity for alumina processing. This project is also intended to create a value chain from coal and bauxite ore to alumina and aluminum.

Minister Dung expressed his hope that local authorities will create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese business and the project will become a symbol for the two countries’ relations in all fields.

KPL