Construction to expand part of the Da Nhim hydropower plant began on February 10 in central Ninh Thuan province.

The project is funded through an investment from the Da Nhim-Ham Thuan-Da Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Company of over 1.95 trillion VND (91.5 million USD), 1.65 trillion VND (77.44 million USD) of which was sourced from Japanese government loans.

Chairman and General Director of the Joint Stock Company Nguyen Trong Oanh said the expansion will include the installation of a new group of turbines with a designed capacity of 80 megawatts, raising the plant’s total capacity from 160 megawatts to 240 megawatts.

Once completed, the turbines will connect to the 220 kilovolt network in Nha Trang city of central coastal Khanh Hoa province, Di Linh and Duc Trong districts of Central Highlands Lam Dong province, and Thap Cham district of central Ninh Thuan province.

Scheduled to be fully operational by the first quarter of 2018, the expansion aims to boost the grid’s capacity during peak usage times by adding nearly 100 million kilowatts annually and improve the water supply to Ninh Thuan province during its dry season.-VNA