VIENTIANE, Jan 7 (Xinhua): Laos has launched a 500-kilovolt power transmission line linking a power substation at a village in its southern Champasak province to the border area of Cambodia.
Lao National Radio on Thursday in a report quoted Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Thongphat Inthavong as saying at the launching ceremony on Tuesday that the project would play an important role in developing the energy sector in the Southeast Asian country, especially its ability to provide electricity to local residents and benefit economic development.
Managing Director of the Lao state-owned Electricite du Laos (EDL) Chanthaboun Soukaloun said the power transmission line and the substation are part of a national project, which has used modern techniques with a high investment value. It is an important achievement for the country's strategy to export electricity to neighboring countries, especially Cambodia.
The power transmission line has a length of more than 200 km and runs through the Khong district of the Champasak province, and the Sanamxay and Phouvong districts in the Attapeu province.
Many hydropower plants have been built in Laos as part of the government's strategy to turn the country into a "battery" of Southeast Asia.
As of 2022, Laos had had 90 sources of energy with a combined installed capacity of nearly 11,000 MW. They include 77 hydropower plants, eight solar power plants, four biomass schemes, and one coal-fired power plant.
During 2021-2025, the country plans to produce an additional 1,807 MW of electricity, with hydropower accounting for 57 percent of the total, coal-fired power 19 percent, and solar power 24 percent.
By 2030, it is planned that Laos will produce another 5,559 MW of electricity. Of the total, 77.59 per cent will come from hydropower and the rest will come from solar, wind and coal-fired power plants, according to the media report. - Xinhua
