Electricity Company No.3, an affiliate of Electricity of Vietnam, plans to invest US$380m from now until 2008 in the construction of 17 small and medium-sized hydroelectric power plants in and around the Vietnamese Central Highlands, according to the Vietnamese News Agency.

The company is currently preparing to construct three new hydroelectric power plants with a total installed capacity of 98MW in Khanh Hoa, Gia Lai and Dac Lac provinces.

A company official said that funding for these projects will be sought from international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).