Construction of expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant kicks off

Construction of expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant kicks off

The construction of the expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant began in the northern province of Hoa Binh on January 10.

Covering an area of 99.2 hectares, the project is invested by Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Besides, Vietnam Electricity Power Projects Management Board No.1 (EVNPMB1) is the representative of the investor and Power Engineering Consulting JSC 1 (EVNPECC1) is in charge of building the feasibility report. The expanded Hoa Binh Hydro Power Plant has a total investment value of VND9.22 trillion ($400.87 million), 30 per cent of which is from EVN’s equity and the remaining 70 per cent from commercial loans without a government guarantee.

The expanded component includes the two turbines with a total capacity of 480MW and electricity output of about 488.3 million kWh per year.

The first turbine is scheduled to be put into operation in the third quarter of 2024, and the second will come into service in the last quarter of the year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that hydropower projects on the Da River are a symbol of national industrialisation and modernisation. The expanded project will help raise the combined capacity of the Hoa Binh, Son La, and Lai Chau hydropower plants to over 6,000MW, he added.

The power sector is a cornerstone of national development. To date, 99.3 per cent of rural households received access to electricity, and Vietnam ranks 27th among 199 countries and territories in electricity access.

Built-in the Da River basin in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh, at the time of its conception in 1979, Hoa Binh was the largest hydropower plant in Southeast Asia.

The construction was supported by the Soviet Union all the way through designing, supplying equipment, supervising, and helping it go on stream. Construction began in November 1979 and was completed 15 years later in December 1994.