Laos plans to become regional electricity supplier by 2020

Jul 02, 2009 - Asia Pulse Data Source

Laos has a plan to transform itself into a battery of the Southeast Asian region so as to go out of the status of a underdeveloped country by 2020, according to the Lao news agency KPL.

The news agency quoted Saypaseuth Phopsoupha, Director of the Energy Promotion an Development Department under the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines, as saying that the Lao government is expected to sell 7,000 MW of electricity to Thailand by 2015 and 5,000 MW to Vietnam by 2020.

The electricity will come from hydropower plants nationwide, including Nam Thuen 2, he said, adding that t his plan was reviewed at a recent meeting of Ministry of Energy and Mines in Luang Prabang province.

Saypaseuth said that if all the hydropower projects of the government come on stream on schedule, they can bring about revenues of millions of USD.

The Nam Thuen 2 project is expected to generate electricity at the end of the year while the Nam Lik 1-2 and Sekaman 3 projects will be put into operation in 2010 and the Nam Ngum 2 will turn out its first kilowatts of electricity in 2011.