The hydropower project will provide power to energy-hungry Thailand and provide much-needed revenue to fund poverty reduction programs in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
The new plant is expected to generate upwards of $770m for Lao PDR, of which nearly $200m is specifically earmarked for poverty reduction and environmental protection programs.
The public-private Nam Ngum 3 power plant, on the Nam Ngum River in northern Lao PDR, will provide 2,072GWh of clean energy annually for export to neighboring Thailand.
ADB Southeast Asia Department director Anthony Jude said by using hydropower instead of fossil fuels, Thailand will avoid an average one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
The Nam Ngum 3 project will comprise a 220m high dam that will create a 27.5sq km reservoir.
The plant, estimated to cost around $1bn, will be built and operated for 27 years by the Nam Ngum 3 Power Company, which is owned by three private sector companies: Thailand’s GMS Lao Company and Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding PCL, together with Axia Power Holdings, a subsidiary of Japan’s Marubeni Corp.
The Nam Ngum 3 plant, expected to be operational in 2017, will be located upstream of two existing hydropower plants, and downstream from another plant that is currently under construction.
