The World Bank (WB) has approved to provide a loan of $330 million to the state-run Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) to develop the 260-MW Trung Son hydropower project in the central province of Thanh Hoa. The plant will be the first of its kind in Vietnam so far to be financed by the WB, the Tuoi tre online newspaper reported. The finance with a maturity of 27 years will be provided to Vietnam’s sole electricity distributor through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The world’s largest development bank will also provide technical assistance to EVN in building a safe dam for the plant. Trung Son 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. (Tuoi tre – Youth Apr 28)
