China Eximbank provides RMB 367.29 million loan for 86MW Nam Phay Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) Project

On November 25, 2013, a special purpose vehicle called Nam Phay Power Company Ltd (NPPC) was established — as a joint venture of the Hong Kong Frame Star Development Ltd. (85% ownership stake) and Électricité du Laos (15% ownership stake) — in order to finance, develop, implement, and operate the 86MW Nam Phay Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) Project. Then, on February 28, 2014 and March 4, 2014, NPPC and the Government of Laos signed a franchise agreement and a concession agreement for the 86MW Nam Phay Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) Project. The total cost of the project was $218 million and it was financed with a mix of debt and equity. On December 24, 2014, NPPC was making preparations to submit an application to China Eximbank for a $148 million loan with a 15 year maturity and a 3 year grace period. June 23, 2015, China Eximbank and NPPC signed an RMB 367,291,700 loan agreement for the 86MW Nam Phay Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) Project. Norinco International Cooperation Ltd.’s equity stake in NPPC was pledged as a source of collateral for the loan. The purpose of the project was to construct a 86MW hydroelectric power plant in the Phoun region north of Xaysomboun province, 249.5 km away from the capital city of Vientiane. The project involved the construction of a headwork, headrace power system and transmission system. The project includes 2 pelton turbine generators with 86MW of power generation capacity, 397,000 MWh of annual power supply, and projected annual mean power output of 419.52 GW.h. The dam site is located in a valley upstream of the Nam Phay river, the tributary of Nam Ngum river which is the level 1 tributary of Mekong River. The powerhouse is located on the right bank of Nam Leuk River and it contains two 43-MW Pelton turbines that transmit power through a 115-kV transmission line from the Nam Phay switchyard to the Thongkhoun II substation. Powerchina Resources Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. In July 2011, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was completed. Then, on May 16, 2012, the project feasibility study report was approved. On April 30, 2013, the Government of Laos approved the EIA. Construction began in March 2014. Reservoir impoundment took place on June 18, 2016. On May 8, 2017, the plant’s power generating units successfully passed 72 hour commissioning and came into full load operation. The project then passed a final inspection on June 20, 2017. The project achieved its commercial operation date (COD) on November 1, 2017. On December 1, 2017, the Managing Director of Électricité du Laos (EDL), Mr. Bounoum Sivanpheng signed the power plant’s COD certificate. Then, on January 22, 2018, the power plant was officially inaugurated. By the end of November 2020, it had produced about 1.3 billion kWh of power. In December 2020, it passed inspection after 1,302 days of operation.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Nam Phay Hydropower Project. 2. The Chinese project title is 南湃4水电站. 3. Électricité du Laos (EDL) is the state corporation of Laos that owns and operates the country's electricity generation, electricity transmission and electricity distribution assets. 4. NPPC was registered in Laos on November 25, 2013. The Hong Kong Frame Star Development Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norinco International Cooperation Ltd, owns 85 per cent of the shares in the project and Electricite Du Lao (EDL) owns 15 per cent of the shares. 5. One official source (http://en.sasac.gov.cn/2020/12/28/c_11749.htm) indicates that construction began in December 2013. This discrepancy warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

16