Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction has signed an MoU with Korea Western Power to cooperate on developing a hydropower plant in Phou Ngoy, Laos. The Thailand-based developer Charoen Energy and Water Asia (CEWA) had initially signed the deal with the Laos government to develop the Phou Ngoy project and since then, has been jointly executing the project with Korea Western Power. A tri-party investment agreement was entered into with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) in August 2020.
Under the MoU, Korea Western Power and Doosan will jointly pursue development of the Phou Ngoy hydropower plant and cooperate on the local manufacturing of key equipment for hydropower plant projects, as well as on the development of sales routes to promote exporting of the products.
The 728-MW Phou Ngoy hydropower plant will be built in Pakse, a city located in the southern Laos province of Champasak. The project is valued to be about US$2.4 billion and will be carried out using the BOT (build-operate-transfer) approach. This is an EPC project, with Doosan handling the supply of main equipment and 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. The plant construction is expected to start in 2022 and be completed by 2029.
Inwon Park, CEO of Doosan Heavy’s Plant EPC Business Group said, “With our recent hydropower, wind power and hydrogen projects, Doosan Heavy’s drive to expand our green energy business is producing visible results. To capitalise 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 contract with Korea Southeast Power to build the Nepal Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant, and also agreed to participate in the development of a hydropower plant in Pakistan. In addition, the company has signed an MoU with Korea Midland Power to jointly develop overseas hydropower markets.
In September 2019, Doosan signed a business and technology cooperation agreement on hydropower generation with Austria-based Andritz Hydro, in order to enhance its technological self-reliance in hydropower engineering. Doosan is currently pursuing the local manufacturing of a 30-MW hydroelectric turbine and generator jointly with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP).
