Huong Son Hydro-Electric Joint Stock Co. announced in late November that it would start constructing a 42MW hydroelectric power plant in the central Vietnamese province of Ha Tinh in the first quarter of 2004, according to the Vietnamese News Agency (VNA).

The US$50M plant will become operational by 2007 and will generate 180MkWh of electricity each year.

VNA also reports the start of construction on Vietnam’s Ban Coc hydroelectric power plant in Que Phong District in the central province of Nghe An. The plant will generate 80.5MkWh of electricity each year and will take 28 months to construct. It will be built at a cost of US$20M by the Hanoi Construction Corporation.

The plant is the first of three to be built under the Que Phong hydro power project, approved by the Vietnamese government last March. Construction of the other two hydro plants, the Xao Va and Nhan Hac, will be completed by 2007.