Gov’t urges quicker relocation for Son La power plant

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai made the request while chairing a meeting of the State Steering Committee for the project in the northern province of Son La on Jan. 9.

He was reported that around 1,900 households still remain in the plant’s site while 18,160 other households have already been relocated in resettlement areas.

Apart from resettlement issues, the government leader also asked contractors to speed up installation of equipment and facilities needed for the plant to enable the Son La plant’s first turbine group to run in late 2010 as planned.

Started construction in December 2005, the 37 trillion VND Son La hydroelectric power plant is designed to have six turbine groups with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW.

Once it swings into full operation in 2012, the Son La power plant will be the largest in Southeast Asia , generating 10.2 billion kWh a year.