Laos plans to put four hydro-power plants into operation this year, thus accelerating economic growth of the country, the Ministry of Energy and Mining said on Feb. 16.
These include the 615MW Nam Ngum 2 plant, the 100MW Nam Lik 1-2 plant in Vientiane province, the 2.4MW Nam Nhon plant in Luang Namtha and Bo Keo provinces, and the 2.4MW Nam Theun 2 plant in Khammuone province.
The land-locked country is also developing other hydro-power plants, including the 232 million-USD Vietnamese-invested Sekaman 3 plant with a capacity of 210 MW in Sekong province, and the 1,410MW plant in Luang Prabang province which is invested with 2 billion USD by the PetroVietnam Power.
Laos is planning 17 hydro-power plants and conducting feasibility study for 45 others.
In an effort to become a major electricity producer of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Lao government signed numerous memoranda of understanding to supply electricity for Vietnam , Thailand and Cambodia .
The country has invested 4.1 billion USD in electricity sector since 2001./.