VIENTIANE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in southern Laos' Sekong province have approved the study, exploration, design and construction of more than 50 hydropower plants in the province.
Lao Economic Daily on Tuesday quoted the director of the provincial Planning and Investment Department Sakon Phonepaseuth as saying that 54 hydro stations are currently planned and at various stages of development.
Memorandums of Understanding are in the process of being signed to initiate the study and possible construction of 28 hydro stations.
Project Development Agreements are being signed on another 15 schemes, while 11 more hydro plants are at the concession agreement stage.
Sekong province, some 530 km southeast of Lao capital Vientiane, currently has three hydropower plants, with a total installed capacity of 353 MW, capable of producing over 1,383 GWh per year.
People living in 18,633 houses in 164 villages of Sekong province now have access to electricity, accounting for 83.51 percent of all homes in the province.
People in rural areas are benefiting from these development projects and enjoying a better quality of life, according to the report. ■
