Funds, contractor for 410-megawatt hydropower plant ready to go ahead
Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding expects construction on the 410-megawatt Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant in Laos to commence by the end of this year, as a prime contractor and financing are now in place.
The developer and operator of the Bt32-billion project is Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Co (PNPC), a 25:26:25:24 joint venture of Ratch, SK Engineering and Construction, Korea Western Power, and Lao Holding State Enterprise.
Ratch chief executive officer Pongdith Potchana said yesterday that construction would take about five years, so the plant will start commercial operations in 2018.
About 370 megawatts or 90 per cent of the generating capacity will be distributed to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under a 27-year power purchase agreement. The rest will be fed into Laos’s electricity grid.
The project will funded from shareholders’ capital of about Bt9.5 billion, with Ratch responsible for Bt2.4 billion, and borrowings from financial institutions.
The electricity for Thailand will be transmitted to the Ubon Ratchathani sub-station through a 500-kilovolt line to help ensure power stability in the Northeast.
Last Thursday, PNPC signed a syndicated loan agreement for Bt22.13 billion with Krungthai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Thanachart Bank and the Export and Import Bank of Thailand.
It also signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with SK Engineering and Construction.
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Construction-in-Laos-to-start-soon-Ratch-30221167.html
