The Lai Chau Hydropower Plant project has a total investment capital of VND35.7 trillion with an installed capacity of 1,200MW. According to calculations, the plant would produce 4.69 billion kWh of power per year. Construction on the project was kicked off on January 5, 2011 and the entire project is expected to be completed in 2017 as planned.

According to the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant project’s management board, the first turbine would be put into operation in late 2015 while the remaining would be completed in 2016 (one year ahead of schedule compared to the National Assembly’s requirements).

By the end of August, completed building targets consisted of foundation excavation and treatment. The other work such as concreting spillway and installing machinery and equipment was completed based on set schedule. The procurement of foreign equipment and domestic hydro-mechanical equipment also met building requirements.
The construction of public roads to serve transport of materials, equipment and manpower, the building of 110 kV transformer stations and 110 kV power transmission lines from Dien Bien Province’s Tuan Giao District to the construction site were finalized. In addition, according to the management board, public works such as clinics, schools, markets and bus stations were also completed.
In September 2014, the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant project’s management board will strive to finalize building targets such as completing 42,500cu.m of normal concrete and 30,000cu.m of roller-compacted concrete, implementing waterproof solutions and installing snorkel.
According to the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant project’s management board, workload would remain large. Therefore, units must maintain the progress in order to meet set requirements, striving to put the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant’s first turbine into operation in late 2015 and complete the remaining in 2016 (one year ahead of schedule compared to the National Assembly’s requirements). The Son La Hydropower Company has currently arranged human resources to complete the installation of electromechanical equipment in order to collect the data serving operations of the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant.

To prepare the recruitment and train human resources to keep up with the progress when putting the plant into operation, on July 28, 2014, a training course for operators for the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant was held at the Son La Hydropower Company. According to the training program, 70 students were learning and studying technological systems and machinery and equipment in the Son La Hydropower Plant, as the Lai Chau Hydropower Plant will use the same technology as the Son La Hydropower Plant. Operators are trained for two months. In addition, in February 2014, 18 engineers were participated in other training course.