Work starts on expanding Da Nhim hydropower plant in Ninh Thuan

Ninh Thuan (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai issued order to start work on expanding Da Nhim hydropower plant in Ninh Son district, the central province of Ninh Thuan on December 12.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy PM Hai asked the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), its affiliates Power Generation Corporation 1 and Da Nhim – Ham Thuan – Da Mi hydropower company to experimentally operating the plant as scheduled in the first quarter of 2018.

The plant will be equipped with another turbine capable of generating 80MW of electricity.

Once completed, it will have higher capacity, from 160MW to 240MW, and supply 99 million kWh to the national power grid per year.

Approved by the two governments in 2013 when Vietnam and Japan celebrated the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, the expansion project costs more than 1.9 trillion VND (86.3 million USD), 85 percent of which is sourced from the Japanese government’s official development assistance and the remaining from the investor Da Nhim – Ham Thuan – Da Mi hydropower company.

Construction on the Da Nhim hydropower plant started in 1961 and was completed in 1964.

Over the course of more than five decades, the plant has become a symbol of solid ties between Vietnam and Japan, Counsellor of the Japanese embassy in Vietnam Yoshito Nakajima said in his speech at the ceremony.-VNA