Son La mega power project to energise nation’s development

The project breaks new ground in Vietnam’s drive for modernisation

Funded with a total investment capital of VND36.9 trillion (around $2.4 billion) and given a 2012 completion date, the Son La plant will have a generating capacity of 2,400 MW through six turbines.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony in Son La province, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was confident about the plant’s influence on the economy.
“This plant will generate an electricity output of 10.2 billion kWh per year, equivalent to around 20 per cent of the economy’s current energy needs,” said Khai.
Experts predict power demand in Vietnam will increase faster than gross domestic product (GDP) growth, rising an average of 13 to 14 per cent each year.
Electricity demand is also estimated to hit 95-100 billion kWh by 2010, and an additional 200 to 230 billion kWh by 2020.
Electricity of Vietnam Corporation (EVN) has forecast that the nation will face severe power shortages during the 2006-2010 period due to high economic growth, expected to reach 8 per cent per year.
Factoring in the current rate of consumption, it is predicted the country will need an additional 2,000MW each year, an amount equal to the entire generating capacity of the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant.
“The shortage has been estimated at 1.1 billion kWh in 2006, 6.6 billion kWh in 2007, 8.6 billion kWh in 2008, 10.3 billion kWh in 2009, and 7.2 billion kWh in 2010,” said EVN general director Dao Van Hung.
He added that given the economy’s energy shortfall, the first of the six turbines will be put into use by 2010.
Along with 16 other power plants under construction, the total output will hopefully resolve the country’s projected power shortage, he said.
One problem with the plant’s construction is the relocation and resettlement of local residents displaced from 44,000 square kilometres of land.