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AsiaElec WIND AsiaElec
Laos wind programme to sell
power to Vietnam
Asian Development Bank teams up with Monsoon Wind Power
LAOS A Laos-based backer of a prominent local wind climate investments that are needed to clear a
power project, the Monsoon Wind Power Com- pathway to green growth. The syndication of
pany, has agreed to a large-scale financing package development and commercial financing for
with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build this project bridges this gap by mobilising pri-
a 600-MW wind plant in the Lao People’s Demo- vate capital to develop wind resources which are
cratic Republic. translated into clean power generation that can
The $692.5m loan will support construction spur economic and social advancement in the
of a site to be located in the southern reaches of region.”
the 1,000-km long landlocked nation, and when The agreement between Monsoon and the
finished will supply the power generated to buyers ADB includes a combination of loans and
across the border in central Vietnam to the east. other financing and grant deals. A $100m loan
Transmission will be via a purpose-built 500- from the ADB’s ordinary capital resources,
kV transmission line. in addition to a $150m syndicated loan and a
Laos, meanwhile, remains one of the most further $50m in concessional financing along
underdeveloped nations in Asia, with little in with $382.55m in what the ADB terms parallel
the way of renewables infrastructure in place loans, make up the bulk of the deal. There will
or planned to benefit the local populace. also be a $10m grant for as of yet undisclosed
The bulk of power supplied to the largely purposes.
rural nation comes in the form of hydropower Gaboury went on to say that “the financing
generated electricity. from ADB and its partners will help unlock the
Director-general of the ADB’s Private Sector Lao PDR’s untapped wind resources, providing
Operations Department Suzanne Gaboury said a basis for a transition to clean energy and green
of the financing package: “developing econo- growth that will have lasting benefits for the
mies in Asia and the Pacific face shortfalls in economy.”
Week 10 08 •March•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P9
