State utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has launched the construction of the Vietnamese section of the 500 kV Monsoon (Laos)–Thanh My (Vietnam) cross-border project in Ta Bhing commune, Nam Giang district, Quang Nam province, Vietnam.
Earlier in July 2020, the Prime Minister approved the project for the electricity import policy and connection plan to the Monsoon wind power plant in Laos. Further, the project is part of the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) for the period 2021 to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which was approved in May 2023. The project involves the construction of 44.71 km of dual circuit line in Vietnam from the wind power plant cluster to the 500 kV Thanh My substation. EVN’s subsidiary Power Project Management Board 2 is implementing the project in Vietnam. The project involves an investment of over VND1.1 trillion, with debt funding from the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and counterpart capital from EVN. Once operational, the line will be able to transmit a maximum capacity of about 2,500 MW, contributing to improving the operating capacity of the national power system through electricity imports from Laos. However, according to the power purchase agreement, the line will receive 600 MW from Laos’ wind power sources, which has an expected average annual electricity output of about 1.7 TWh.