Work on Nam Kong 1 dam delayed by two months

Construction of the Nam Kong 1 hydropower plant in Attapeu province is two months behind schedule after work was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Director General of the Department of Energy Management, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Mr Bouathep Malaykham, said on Thursday during a visit to the dam that construction was now 82 percent complete.

“Without work being slowed due to the pandemic, much more progress would have been made by now,” he said. The effects of the pandemic have been widespread and have been felt not only by the Nam Kong 1 dam, but by many other development projects.
Construction began at the end of 2017 and, without the two-month delay, about 90 percent of the work on the dam would be complete by now.
Developers told Vientiane Times that, despite the delay, the generators would go into operation in May next year. Work on this part of the power plant has not been affected and construction is continuing as planned.
Everyone involved in the project is working at full speed to get the plant up and running as close to the planned schedule as possible. The dam will have an installed capacity of 160MW, with the power generated to be sold to Vietnam.
The investors in the US$335.8 million project are the China International Water & Electric Corp., with a 65 percent share, while Electricite du Laos (EDL) holds a 20 percent stake, and the Lao-owned Investment and Hydro Power Consultant Sole Co., Ltd. holds the remaining 15 percent. The dam is being built in Phouvong district, in an area close to the border with Vietnam and Cambodia. There are two other hydropower plants on the Nam Kong river.

By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
(Latest Update December 1, 2020)