State-owned vertically integrated utility, Électricité du Laos (EDL), has launched a 500 kV transmission line and substation project to link Laos’ grid to that of Cambodia.
As part of the project, over 200-km-long power transmission line worth USD150 million runs through the Khong district of Champasak province, and the Sanamxay and Phouvong districts in the Attapeu province. EDL holds 30 per cent stake in the project while Chinese firm Yunnan Energy Investment (HK) Company Limited owns 70 per cent. This is Laos’ first concession project awarded on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. The project is part of the national plan to develop its electricity export capability to neighbouring countries and turn the country into a “battery for Southeast Asia”. Laos plans to produce an additional 1,807 MW of electricity, with hydropower accounting for 57 per cent of the total, coal-fired power 19 per cent, and solar power 24 per cent during the 2021-25 period.