WB, Vietnam Push Up Negotiations for 260-MW Power Plant

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Mar 11 approved to set up a team to negotiate with the World Bank on borrowing loans to the 260-MW Trung Son hydropower project in the central province of Thanh Hoa. The negotiation team includes representatives from the offices of Presidential and of Government, the ministries of Planning and Investment, of Finance, of Foreign Affairs, of Justice and of Industry and Trade, and the state-run Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN).  Trung Son hydropower plant will be built on the Ma River in Trung Son commune of Quan Hoa district. Once fully operational in 2018, the plant can contribute 1.55 billion kWh of electricity a year to the national power gird. It also helps to reduce floods in the lower river region with a regular storage capacity of 112 million cubic meters and cuts down greenhouse gases. (chinhphu.vn Mar 11)