Construction of expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant kicks off
Construction of the expanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant began in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh on January 10, with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attending the ground-breaking ceremony.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asks EVN and relevant units to ensure the progress and quality of the project, and minimise its impact on local residents. (Photo: VNA)
Hoa Binh (VNA) – Construction of theexpanded Hoa Binh hydropower plant began in the northern mountainous province ofHoa Binh on January 10, with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attending theground-breaking ceremony.
Work on the 1,920MW Hoa Binh hydropower plant, the largestof its kind in Southeast Asia, started in 1979 and it was put into full operation in 1994.
Over the past decades, the plant has been seen as asymbol of not only the sustainable and good friendship between Vietnam and theformer Soviet Union (now Russia), but also of the domestic electricity sector.
Covering an area of 99.62 hectares in Hoa Binh city,the expanded project is invested by the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) with atotal funding of over 9.22 trillion VND (some 398.9 million USD), 30 percent of which is arranged by EVN and the remaining 70 percent comes from commercial loans without agovernment guarantee.
It comprises two turbines with a total capacity of480MW and electricity output of about 488.3 million kWh per year.
The first turbine is scheduled to be put into operationin the third quarter of 2024, and the second will come into service in the lastquarter of the year.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the ground-breaking ceremony. (Photo: VNA)
Addressing the ceremony, PM Phuc described hydropower projects onthe Da River as a symbol of national industrialisation and modernisation.
He lauded contributions by the power sector tonational development, saying 99.3 percent of rural households have get access toelectricity, and Vietnam ranks 27th among 199 countries and territoriesin electricity access index.
The expanded project will help to raise the combinedcapacity of the Hoa Binh, Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants to over 6,000MW,he added.
The government leader asked EVN and relevant units to ensure the progressand quality of the project, and minimise its impact on local residents.
PM Phuc also requested Hoa Binh province to soon completethe land clearance work and ensure security and safety for the project./.
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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asks EVN and relevant units to ensure the progress and quality of the project, and minimise its impact on local residents. (Photo: VNA) 
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the ground-breaking ceremony. (Photo: VNA) 
