PM inspects Lai Chau hydropower plant construction site

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau to be well prepared for the resettlement of local people who have given their land for the Lai Chau hydropower plant, a key national project.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hasasked the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau to be well preparedfor the resettlement of local people who have given their land for theLai Chau hydropower plant, a key national project.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 people will need to relocate intonew homes to clear land for the construction of the Lai Chau powerplant, which is the last in a series of hydropower plants, namely HoaBinh, Son La, Huoi Quang, Ban Chat, Nam Chien and Nam Na, as part of anational plan to generate electricity from the Da River.

“The Lai Chau plant will not only supply a large output of electricityto the national power grid but also help promote socio-economicdevelopment, effectuate a much needed shift in economic priorities, aswell as restructure population and production in Lai Chau province andthroughout the northwest,” said PM Dung on Nov. 4 during hisfact-finding tour of the construction site of the power plant.

Though the project is waiting for the National Assembly’s approval atits current meeting, the preparation of paperwork is still underway soconstruction can begin in late 2010 as scheduled.

At a working session with leaders of relevant ministries and sectorsduring the tour, PM Dung agreed to use the construction team buildingthe Son La hydropower plant for the construction of the Lai Chau plant.

The plant, which is designed to have two turbine groups with a totalcapacity of 1,200 MW, will be built at Nam Hang commune, Muong Tedistrict, which is one of the country’s poorest.

A reservoir capable of storing up to 1.2 billion cu.m of water will becreated to serve the plant, which is expected to generate more than 4.7billion kWh a year.

Investment capital for the plant is estimated at 32 trillion VND.

Lai Chau province plans to build 34 resettlement sites for local peoplecurrently living in the construction site of the plant and is workingon a project to plant 10,000 ha of rubber to enable those people toshift to a new production model./.

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