Vientiane Times, May 12, 2014

Construction of Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower plant is scheduled to commence in August this year, at a cost of around US$900 million, the company has revealed at a consultation meeting last Friday.

Nam Ngiep 1 is a 290 MW project with a generating capacity of 1,620 GWh per annum. Agreement has been made to sell the majority of its production to Thailand with the balance being sent to the national power grid.

The meeting was held on Friday in Pakxan district of Borikhamxay province. Governor of Xaysomboun province, Dr Sombath Yialiher presided over the meeting attended by NNP1 Managing Director, Mr Yoshi Yamabayashi and local officials.

Representatives of government sectors, provincial authorities, international bodies, shareholders, residents of various affected villages and company staffers were also present at the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the project’s plans for environmental and social mitigation measures, and the detailed plans for resettlement and livelihood improvement activities.

Dr Sombath said at the meeting that construction of the hydropower project will be part of boosting the growth of the national economy but the improvements to the affected villagers in the area were a special benefit.

“Project developers, government sectors and local authorities will need to work together closely to solve line issues,” he said.

Dr Sombath, who is Chairman of the Committee for Resettlement and Relocation of affected residents from Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower project, also noted that the impact on the local area and its environment will be properly addressed to ensure the sustainability of biodiversity.

According to the company, the production of electricity will begin early in 2019 with a concession period of 27 years and the plant will come under the ownership of the government once the concession period has ended.

The Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company (NNP1) is jointly owned by KPIC Netherlands, a subsidiary of Japan’s Kansai Electric Power, with 45 percent of the shares, EGAT International of Thailand with 30 percent and Lao Holding State Enterprise with the remaining 25 percent.

The hydropower project is located on the boundary between the two provinces of Xaysomboun and Borikhamxay.

The company’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr Kasem Chudthong, revealed at the meeting that the main dam and power station will generate 272 MW of power for export to Thailand.

About 6km downstream from the main dam, the re-regulating dam and power station will generate 18 MW of electricity for sale to Electricite du Laos (EDL) for contribution to the domestic grid.