World Bank hydro plant to flow

Central Thanh Hoa province has licenced Trung Son Hydropower, a subsidiary of state-run Electricity of Vietnam, to develop a 260 megawatt hydropower plant, which is scheduled to put into operation in 2017.

The plant will have a total output of 1.55 GWh every year, with investment of $411.72 million in which enterprise’s self-financing is 20 per cent of total investment, and the rest is from World Bank loans.

The World Bank will provide a $330 million loan to Trung Son hydroelectric power project through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The loan has a 27-year term after it signed financial agreements for the Trung Son hydroelectric power project with Vietnam’s State Bank last year.

World Bank’s director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said it was the bank’s first hydropower project in Vietnam with an aim to helping diversify power supply resources in Vietnam.

"This also is part of Vietnam’s plan to develop resources of low-cost electricity to meet its demand for energy and alleviate climate change by cutting a million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year,” she said

The World Bank would also provide technical support to EVN on dam safety and the plant’s operation in line with international standards.