BIDV to Allocate $330M WB Fund for Trung Son Hydropower Project

The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, yesterday [Nov 3] mandated the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) to allocate $330 million from a World Bank’s loan for Trung Son hydropower project in the central region. Earlier on June 28, the WB approved the 27-year-maturity loan through its International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to the state-run Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) to develop the $411-million project. EVN plans to kick off construction of the facility in Dec on the Ma River in Thanh Hoa province. Once fully operational in 2017, the plant can contribute 1.55 billion kWh of electricity a year to the national power gird. The plant will also help to reduce floods in the lower river region with a regular storage capacity of 112 million cubic meters and cuts down greenhouse gases. Hydropower sources currently meet 40% of electricity demand in Vietnam. The nation plans to raise the total capacity of hydropower generation projects to over 17,000 MW by 2020. (vietnamplus.vn Nov 3, dvt.vn Nov 3)