The Vietnamese Government said it is the largest foreign investor in Lao PDR and that more than half of the capital was for hydro power development.

In further hydro power project development for Vietnamese businesses in Lao PDR, one company is to build three hydro power plants with a combined installed capacity of 420MW on the Nam Et river.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the projects has been signed by the Government of Lao PDR and Vietnam’s EVN International Joint Stock Co, which previously invested in the 1.4GW Luang Prabang scheme.

Other foreign investment plans for hydro in Lao PDR has recently seen moves on the 390MW Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy project by a joint venture of SK Engineering and Construction, Korea Western Power and Ratchaburi Electricity Generation Holding.

Recently, Thai contractor Kharnchang Public Co signed a deal with the Government of Lao PDR to build a 1260MW project in Xayaburi province. The plant is to generate approximately 7400GWh of electricity annually, the majority of which is to be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.