Lao and Chinese entrepreneurs who will jointly invest in Nam Mang 1 hydropower project expect to sign a project development agreement (PDA) with the Lao government by the end of this year, according to project coordinator.

The move came after the Lao government approves the results of a feasibility study of the project.

The project coordinator Mr Sommak Pholsena said once PDA is granted the developers will prepare a power purchase agreement with Electricite Du Lao (the state-owned electricity company of Laos) and concession agreement.

“We hope construction will commence by the end of this year or beginning of next year and it should take about three years to complete,” Mr Sommak said.

The project site is located in Thaphabath district, Borikhamxay province, 105 km far from the Lao capital of Vientiane.
The project is estimated to cost a total of 771 billion kip (US$90 million) and is a joint venture between two Chinese and a Lao investors.

The proposed dam would be about 68 metres high and the plant would have an installed capacity of 57 megawatts. It would be able to generate more than 200GWh of power annually.
Laos is shaping itself to be a battery of Asia by developing hydropower project in its rivers and export to its neighbours.

The country has the potential to generate a total of about 26,500 MW from hydro sources, excluding the mainstream Mekong River.

Less than 2 percent of the country's hydropower potential has been developed over the past 30 years, according to the Energy Promotion and Development Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.