Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presented the Ho Chi Minh Order to Dr. Thai Phung Ne, a leading Vietnamese hydroelectricity expert, in Hanoi on January 25.

Ne was former Minister of Energy, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Hydroelectricity, and deputy head of the State Steering Committee on Son La-Lai Chau Hydroelectricity Project.

His career is closely connected with the development of major hydropower plant projects such as Thac Ba, Hoa Binh and Son La.

Especially, thanks to his contributions, the Son La hydropower plant, dubbed the project of the century, was completed three ahead of schedule.

Built at a cost of 60 trillion VND (nearly 2.85 billion USD), the plant has a designed capacity of 2,400 MW, making it the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia .

Speaking at the award ceremony, PM Dung spoke highly of Ne’s great contributions to the national construction and development, especially to the electricity sector.

He expressed his wish that Ne, with his expertise, will continue making valuable contributions to the country’s power development.-VNA