A proposal, to be assessed next month, is to have US$700,000 for technical assistance studies. The money would come from the Clean Energy Fund, ADB said.

ADB completed a fact-finding mission on the proposal for technical assistance last month.

Separately, a grant for US$5M is being sought for the further studies to be done by Electricite du Laos. ADB said that the review of the proposal is scheduled for next year.

The scheme is being developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, which hopes to elect one or two plants as demonstration projects with CDM registration for carbon credits.

Following the studies, the Ministry would hope to have the Electricity Law amended to give incentives for hydro developments.