Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project river diversion completed ahead of schedule – excavation work begins for main powerhouse

Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project (NNP1) diverted the Ngiep River through a 625 metre long concrete lined diversion tunnel on 31 October 2015 allowing excavation of the main powerhouse to commence.

“Today, we mark another important milestone for our Project. The river diversion took place safely and successfully. Now, we can start work on the main power station excavation,” said Mr. Shoji Tsutsui, Deputy Managing Director of the Technical Division of Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company (NNP1PC).

“The diversion was ahead of schedule thanks to the hard work of NNP1PC staff, Contractors, and the Lao Government over the months,” Mr. Tsutsui added.

Nam Ngiep 1 is a 290-megawatt hydropower project under construction in the Borikhamxay and Xaysomboun Provinces of the Lao PDR. The Project is being built and will be operated by the Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company, whose shareholders are Kansai Electric of Japan, EGAT International, and Lao Holding State Enterprise.

Since construction of structures started seriously in September 2014, the Project has made good progress, with about 27.7% of work completed by value at the end of October 2015.

Work on the main dam excavation has been largely completed on both the left and the right banks. The construction of the re-regulation power station is progressing well and is ahead of schedule. Work on the both the conventional (CVC) and roller compacted concrete (RCC) batching plants are substantially complete together with the aggregate crushing plant.  Rock for concrete aggregates is already extracted from the main quarry and the conveyor belt system for delivery of aggregates to the RCC plant and RCC to the dam site is well advanced.

The construction of the 120 kilometre (km) long 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the Project to Nabong Substation in Vientiane Province, Lao PDR, has also started.

The Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project consists of the construction of two dams and two powerhouses along the Ngiep River in Borikhamxay Province.  The main 148 metre high dam will create a water storage reservoir covering a 67 km2 area extending into Xaysomboun Province.

At the main dam site a primary power station will generate around 272 Megawatt (MW) of electricity for export to Thailand via the Nabong Substation. The power station will release water to a re-regulating pond where a second, lower dam of about 20 metre height and power station will generate around 18 MW of electricity for local use. Electricity generation is expected to start in January 2019.

Nam Ngiep 1 Power Company has been granted a 27-year concession period to operate the facility. During this period, the development expects to contribute more than US$600 million to Lao PDR through royalty fees, taxes and dividends paid to Laos Holding State Enterprise, the Government shareholder in the Project.

Lao PDR not only expects to benefit directly from the Project through electricity supply, but also indirectly through local employment, community infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and through the use of goods and services supplied to the Project by Lao businesses.

 

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