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Welcome to Powering Progress |
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Laos is a mountainous country with a population of about 5.5 million, over 80% of which lives in rural areas and is engaged in rice-based agriculture and harvesting of forest products. The economy is one of the least developed in the world with an approximate per capita Gross National Product of US$ 330 per annum .
Continued economic growth is needed to alleviate poverty and achieve social development goals, but the options for achieving this are constrained by the small domestic economy and limited trade opportunities. Lao PDR, at its present stage of development, has few industries in which it enjoys a comparative advantage in the region.
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The most important of these is the generation of electricity based on Lao PDR's large, almost untapped, energy reserves, principally hydropower, and a central location in a region characterized by expanding electricity demand.
The Lao power sector is still in its infancy, with only one-third of the population having access to electricity. The sector has the potential to play a pivotal role in achieving the social and economic development objectives of the Government of Lao PDR (GOL) by expanding the availability of low cost, reliable electricity within the country and earning revenue from export sales to the region. GOL power sector policy facilitates these objectives by encouraging optimal use of the country's natural resources, promoting efficiency in power sector institutions and creating a conducive environment for responsible infrastructure investment, both public and private
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7 May 2008
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Power development progress and outlook presented by Mr. Xaypaseuth PHOMSOUPHA, Director General of the Department of Energy Promotion and Development . to the US mission during its visit to Lao PDR in May 2008
[ more details]
28 April 2008
22 April 2008
- Saravan to receive fourth power plant
A Chinese company will build a power plant that will generate over 70 MW of electricity in Saravan province, said the province's Energy and Mining Department yesterday.
[more details]
10 April 2008
- Nam Theun 2 Diversion Tunnel Closing [ Press Release ]
The Nam Theun 2 hydropower project today moved one step nearer completion with the sealing of the diversion tunnel which will see the water level start to rise and ultimately fill the Nam Theun 2 reservoir, a process referred to as impoundment.
[more details]
9 April 2008
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POE REPORTS 13 & 14 PLUS ACTION PLAN
The reports issued following the last two PoE visits (Feb 2008 and Mar/Apr 2008) have been released; at the same time the related Action Plan prepared by NTPC has been made available. Given the interdependent nature of the material presented in these three documents, they should be read together as a complete set.
[ POE Reports 13 & 14, Action Plan]
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