Many Vietnamese businesses suffered losses due to dam collapse in Laos

On the night of July 23, in Attapeu province (Laos), a hydroelectric dam broke.Pian Car-Namnoy Carcausing great damage to people and property. Some Vietnamese enterprises investing and doing business here said they suffered some economic damage; so far there have been no human casualties.

Dang Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of Sales in Attapeu of the Vietnam Military Telecommunications Industry Group Viettel, said: “According to preliminary statistics, four broadcasting stations in Sanamsay have been completely paralyzed. The equipment in these four stations cannot operate. The remaining two stations are completely isolated. Because the water is rising too quickly, we still cannot reach them.”

Among the international contractors participating in the Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy Hydropower ProjectThere is a Vietnamese enterprise, Vietnam Construction and Human Resources Joint Stock Company (CMVietnam), with the role ofsubcontractor. However, according to Mr. Pham Minh Phuc - Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMVietnam Company,The incident of the auxiliary dam breaking at the head cluster is not related to the project that the company has undertaken.

Currently, this enterprise is constructing 2 packages (packages 9 and 3) at the Thuy Duong project.Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy Power Plant, and is a subcontractor of SK Engineering & Construction (Korea).The total value of the packages that CMVietnam is implementing in this project is about 385 billion VND, including construction of the factory, pressure pipelines, power distribution stations and systems.electromechanical systems (air conditioning, ventilation, fire prevention, fire fighting, communication systems...).Construction work of these packages has been basically completed.and prepare for handover.

Although there was no direct damage or impact, the leader of this enterprise said that due to the impact of the weather and large water flow, the handover work of the enterprise to the general contractor could be affected for several months.

The latest announcement from Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group said that there was damage to the investment and business activities of the project in Attapeu, but it was insignificant; there were no human casualties.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai is one of the large-scale investors in Attapeu province. The group has planted 17,000 hectares of rubber here; there is a hydroelectric project located in the western Truong Son, about 200 km from the broken hydroelectric dam; a small-scale seedling farm of Dai Thang Company.

The Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Project, constructed by Laos' PNPC, includes a dam on the Mekong River's tributaries. The project, with a total cost of 1.02 billion USD, began construction in February 2013, is 90% complete and is expected to be operational in 2019. The plant has a designed capacity of 410 megawatts, of which 90% of the electricity will be exported to Thailand, the rest will be fed into the local grid.The collapsed auxiliary dam is part of a network of three main dams and five auxiliary dams in the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Dam project, which is being developed by contractors from Thailand, South Korea and Laos.

South Korean contractor SK Engineering & Construction said the first crack was discovered on the dam on July 22.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), Vietnam currently has 280 investment projects in Laos, with a total capital of 5.1 billion USD. In Attapeu province alone, there are 17 projects, with a total investment of 1.1 billion USD, mainly concentrated in the fields of agriculture, forestry, energy, processing, manufacturing and mining.

The hydropower sector is implementing 5 projects in Laos with a total capacity of 803 MW and a total investment of 1.2 billion USD. Of these, one project has come into operation and is producing electricity; 5 projects are in the construction or feasibility study phase, negotiating project development contracts with the Lao Government.

In Attapeu province alone, there are three Vietnamese hydropower projects including Xekaman 1, Nam Cong 2 and Nam Cong 3, with a total capacity of 432 MW and an investment capital of 704 million USD. Of which, Nam Cong 2 and 3 projects are under construction.