Doosan, Korea Western Power to develop hydropower plant in Laos

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Western Power to partner in developing the 728MW Phou Ngoy hydropower plant on the Mekong River in Laos.

Thai developer Charoen Energy and Water Asia signed the original agreement with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to develop Phou Ngoy, and brought in Korea Western Power as a partner. Korea Western Power is a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power.

In August a tri-party investment agreement was entered into with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation.

Under the MoU signed on November 30, Korea Western Power and Doosan Heavy will jointly develop the hydropower plant, as well as cooperate in the local manufacturing of key equipment for hydropower plants and the development of sales routes for exporting the products. The MoU was signed by Song Jae-sup, head of the planning and management division at Korea Western Power, and Park In-won, chief executive officer of Plant EPC Business Group at Doosan.

Phou Ngoy will be built in Pakse, in the Southern Laos province of Champasak. The project is estimated to cost around US$2.4 billion. It is being done under a build-operate-transfer model.

Under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, Doosan will supply the main equipment and complete the construction work. Starting in January 2021, Korea Western Power and Doosan will jointly conduct a site survey, after which basic engineering will be carried out for the project. Plant construction will start in 2022 and will be completed by 2029.

“With our recent hydropower, wind power and hydrogen projects, Doosan Heavy’s drive to expand our green energy business is producing visible results,” Doosan’s Park said. “To capitalize on the hydropower plant business, which is seen as a high potential market both in Korea and overseas, we plan to boost our efforts to promote the local manufacturing and engineering of key equipment and will lead the efforts to promote the green energy industry in Korea.”

Doosan is actively expanding its hydropower business, with the drive to accelerate the energy transition process in the Korean and overseas markets. In October 2020, Doosan signed a deal with Korea Southeast Power to build the 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant in Nepal, and has also agreed to participate in the development of a hydropower plant in Pakistan.