The contract, inked by director of the Sekaman 1 Electricity Company Nguyen Xuan Hien and Minister-Deputy Chairman of the Lao Land Management Committee Ounl Lasonkang, has a duration of 30 years.
Construction of the Sekaman 1 hydro-power plant started earlier on March 6 in Attapeu province, 75km away from the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum of Vietnam .
With an investment of $441.6 million, Sekaman 1 is the largest hydro-electric power plant invested by Vietnam in Laos and serves as one of key projects in the two countries’ energy cooperation programme.
The BOT plant is designed to have a total capacity of 322 MW, forming part of a project which also includes the Sekaman Sanxay hydro-power plant. The two are expected to go into operation after five years of construction, generating a total 1.22 billion kWh a year.
Twenty percent of the electricity generated by three plants will be consumed in Laos while the remaining will be sold to Vietnam through a 500kV transmission line between the two countries.
The same day, the Vietnam-Laos Electricity Joint Stock Company submitted its feasibility study on the Sekaman 4 hydro-power plant to the Lao government.
The Sekaman 4, scheduled to start construction by the end of 2012 will have a capacity of 80 MW. It will cost over $127 million.
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