The first hydropower project with WB loan is about to start construction

Mr. Ngo Viet Hai, Chairman and Director of Trung Son Hydropower One Member Limited Liability Company (Vietnam Electricity Group - EVN) said that on November 24, the first hydropower project using WB loans was started.

Hydropower will be started on the main stream of the Ma River. (Source: Wikipedia)

The announcement was made at a press conference held by the company on the afternoon of November 20 in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Ngo Viet Hai, with a total investment of nearly 410.7 million USD (equivalent to over 7,775.1 billion VND), this is the first hydropower project in Vietnam to receive a loan from the World Bank (WB) with the requirement that 8 out of 10 WB safety policies must be applied to this project.

The WB loan is worth 330 million USD, accounting for about 80% of the total investment, with a loan term of 22 years; including a 6-year grace period, the rest is EVN's counterpart capital. The project also allocates a non-refundable aid of 1 million USD for environmental activities and 2 million USD for the community livelihood development program.

Mr. Hai also affirmed: The project is a typical example of a thorough preparation process, following international good practices in surveying, technical design, analysis of options, monitoring and especially diverse studies and calculations to meet strict requirements on environment, society and dam safety.

The project has an additional spillway to protect the main dam, ensuring the economic efficiency and safety of the project. The project will directly affect 1,516 households in 39 villages in 8 communes; of which, 98% of those affected by the project are ethnic minorities such as Thai, H'Mong, Muong and Kho Mu. However, the majority of people will not have to relocate, only 533 households will have to resettle. Most of the resettled households will have to relocate before the reservoir is filled in October 2016.

The project will provide low-cost electricity to serve domestic needs while ensuring environmental and social sustainability. It is also a multi-purpose project that provides electricity and flood control with an installed capacity of 260 MW, an annual electricity output of over 1 billion kWh and a flood protection capacity of 112 million m3.

The project also brings environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuel-powered power plants of the same size. In addition, the project will create better living conditions and a sustainable environment for affected people; at the same time, it will contribute to improving people's lives and socio-economic development in the project area.

Contractor Sam Sung C&T and Construction Joint Stock Company 47 are the main contractors of the project. AECOM New Zealand and sub-consultant Dong A Investment and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company are the construction supervision consultants. Currently, the 20.4km road leading to the construction site, including two large bridges and five medium bridges, has been completed by the contractor. By the end of December, the contractor will complete the remaining 19.9km of construction road in the construction site.

The Trung Son Hydropower Project is built on the main stream of the Ma River in Trung Son Commune, Quan Hoa District, Thanh Hoa Province. The lake area involves three provinces: Thanh Hoa, Hoa Binh and Son La. According to the schedule, the plant will dam the river in the fourth quarter of 2013, generate electricity from the first unit in the fourth quarter of 2016 and complete the project in 2017./.

According to (TTXVN)-LT