Energy Bangla

Russia’s State Nuclear Corporation- Rosatom and Laos are in negotiation for setting up first nuclear power plant in the territory of Laos.
Dr. Sinava Souphanouvong, Vice Minister of Energy and mines of Laos disclosed the information during an intervie to “Vestnik of Atomprom”, corporate journal of Rosatom.
Both the countries are negotiating on construction of 2 nuclear power units with the use of Russian VVER-reactors, each with capacity of up to 1,200 MW. Laos is actively considering Russia’s proposal for “build-operate-transfer’ model in setting up of the plant.
This year Russia and Laos will celebrate 55 years of their diplomatic relations (that started on October 7, 1960). According to Souphanouvong, Laos and Rosatom are considering signing of a MoU for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
At present Laos is one of the leading countries in Southeastern Asia in hydraulic power engineering. The country is located in the central part of Indochina and has advantageous location for energy export to neighboring countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Laos Vice Minister considers Singapore as a “Potential buyer” as well.
Laos signed an agreement on power supply of 5 GW to Vietnam while power export to Thailand can amount up to 10 GW.
At present total capacity of all the national power plants in Laos is 8 GW. There are more than 80 new power projects under construction. After completion of these projects, total power generation capacity of Laos will rise to nearly 22 GW.