Development of a Mekong based hydropower plant in southern Lao is expected to proceed more rapidly after state-owned Electricite du Laos (EDL) joined forces with the Malaysian company responsible for the project. The joint venture agreement to develop the Don Sahong Hydropower Project in Champasak province was signed last Thursday in Vientiane by EDL Director Khammany Inthirath and Mega First Corporation Berhad President Goh Nan Kioh. According to the joint venture agreement, EDL will hold 20 percent of the US$ 600 million hydropower project, which will be located on a Mekong River channel in the Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) area. The Sahong channel is located in Hangsadam village, Khong district-just a few kilomatres from the Lao-Cambodian border. The power plant will be built at the end of the channel. The project developers expect the power plant to have an installed electricity generation capacity of about 240 MW, enabling it to generate about 1.756 WH per year. The project developers will also have to sign a concession agreement with the Lao government, and a power purchasing agreement with electricity purchasers, before it can kick off construction of the plant, scheduled to begin in 2011 and be completed by 2016.
Source: Vientiane Times
