China Eximbank provides loan for 80MW Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Expansion Project (Units 7 & 8)

In 2015, China Eximbank issued a loan to the Government of Laos for the 80MW Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Expansion Project (Units 7 & 8). The face value and borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. However, it is known that the proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance a $177.07 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract that Dongfang Electric Group (DEC) and Electricite du Laos (EDL) signed in 2013. The purpose of the project was to install two additional power generation units (40MW each) — known as Unit 7 and Unit 8 —at the Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) in Keo-Oudom district within Vientiane province. The locational coordinates of the project site are 18.531068°N 102.547577°E. DEC was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. However, it appears to have hired Sinohydro Corporation Engineering Bureau 15 Co. Ltd. as a subcontractor. Construction commenced in May 2015. The first power generation unit (Unit 7) and second power generation unit (Unit 8) successfully passed a 72-hour trial operation on April 10, 2018. The project was completed and the power plant was officially inaugurated on May 28, 2018.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Nam Ngum 1 Expansion HPP (Dongfang) Project, Phase V of the Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Project, the South Russia 1 Hydropower Expansion Project, NNG1 HPP, and the Nam Ngum-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) Expansion Project Unit 7-8 (80MW). 2. The Chinese project title is 老挝南俄1 or 南俄1水电站扩机项目 or 老挝南俄1水电站扩机项目 or 老挝南俄1（Nam Ngum 1)项目. 3. The China Eximbank loan that supported this project is not included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 4. The borrower of the loan is not explicitly identified in any of the underlying sources that underpin this project record. However, EDL-Generation Company Limited (EDL-Gen) — a subsidiary of Électricité du Laos (EDL) — is identified as the project owner, so AidData assumes that the Government of Laos (or an entity owned by the Government of Laos) is the borrower. 5. 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. The company also manages the import and export of electricity from the national electricity grid of the country. EDL-Generation Company Limited (EDL-Gen) was incorporated in 2010 and operates as a subsidiary of EDL. 6. The face value of the loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes that the loan was provided in the form of a buyer's credit and it financed 85% of the $177.07 million commercial (EPC) contract cost. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

10

Number of total sources

18