【Introduction of the project】
Nam Ngiep 1 Hydropower Project is an independent hydropower producer project based on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) method with investments by Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and Lao Holding State Enterprise. In the project, two dams and two power stations (the main dam and main power station : 272,000kW; re-regulation dam and re-regulation power station : 18,000kW) were built along the Nam Ngiep River, a tributary of Mekong River located 130km northeast of Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The assets of the hydro-power plant will be transferred to Laos free of cost after operation of 27 years. Laos, where the power plant has been constructed, is a landlocked country surrounded by China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, and it does not have any port facing open sea, which is a handicap for logistics and hinders the country’s industrial development. Under such circumstances, hydropower generation is one of main sources for earning foreign currency through sale of electric power to neighboring Thailand. The project’s aim was the construction of a dam with a new hydropower plant that would serve as a battery for Southeast Asia. Ever since construction started in 2013, the project overcame various difficulties and completed the major works in January 2019 as initially planned and began commercial operations in September 2019. Obayashi Corporation engaged in the work related to the main and re-regulation dams as well as the entire civil and construction works including road works, diversion tunnel construction, power station construction, and office construction. In addition, Japanese companies were in charge of the electrical and mechanical works of the power stations and metal works, making it a project carried out by an all-Japan team well prepared in terms of quality and process management.