SCI E&C JSC Company, a subsidiary of the general contractor SCI JSC Group in Vietnam, has awarded Voith Hydro a contract for the supply of the complete electromechanical equipment for the 156 MW Nam Sam 3 hydropower plant, being built the northeastern Lao province of Houaphan.
Under the contract, signed on 28 October, Voith will supply three 52 MW Francis turbine units, as well as provide technical services for supervision, installation and commissioning.
The hydropower plant, which is planned to be put into operation in June 2023 at a total estimated cost of more than US$ 300 million, is designed to generate average annual output of up to 626 GWh. Output will be exported to Vietnam under the terms of a PPA signed in June 2019 between the Phongsubthavy Group and Vietnam’s state electricity supplier EVN. The plant will be connected to the power grid of Vietnam at the 220 kV Nong Cong sub-station in Vietnam’s north central province of Thanh Hoa. Construction work began in October 2019 and, according to SCI E&C, as of early November around 16 per cent of the project’s RCC dam had been completed, with some 143 690 m3 of the estimated total volume of roller compacted concrete of 881 649 m3 already laid.
Voith Hydro and SCI E&C have cooperated on a number of hydropower projects in the region, including the Ca Nan 1 and Ca Nan 2 plants totalling 23 MW in the Vietnam’s northern coastal province of Nghe An Province, which were commissioned in 2019. In May 2021 Voith Hydro was also contracted by SCI Nghe An Joint Stock Company to provide annual maintenance services at Ca Nan 1 and Ca Nan 2. Under the contract, Voith Hydro will provide monthly remote consulting and diagnosis via a VPN connection, video collaboration and support hotline. It will also carry out remote inspections on the key components, including turbine, generator, automation, governor and balance of plant.
Voith Hydro is also supplying electromechanical equipment and technical services for the Nam Lum 1 (9.2 MW), Nam Lum 2 (18 MW) and Nam Xe (24 MW) plants under contracts with SCI E&C.
Nam Sam 3 is one of 11 hydro plants being developed by the Phongsubthavy Group on the Nam Mo, a main tributary of the Ca river in Vietnam, to generate electricity for export to Vietnam. The source of the Nam Mo is in Laos, and it flows eastward into Vietnam with much of the left bank of the upper Nam Mo within Laos territory in Xiang Khoang Province. An inter-governmental cooperation agreement was signed in 2016 to co-develop hydropower projects on the Nam Mo in both countries. Nam Mo 1 was commissioned in Laos in 2015, and the 120 MW Nam Mo 2 is expected to begin commercial service early next year. Electricity will be exported through a 220 kV transmission line which is scheduled to be completed in 2022. Phongsubthavy Group is building the section in Laos, while EVN is responsible for the section in Vietnam. PPAs were signed in January 2020 between the Phongsubthavy Group and EVN for the 69 MW Nam San 3A and 45 MW Nam San 3B plants. Phongsubthavy Group and EVN also signed a MoU in December 2020 for the development of the 84 MW Nam Yeuang hydropower cascade, which is expected to start exporting to Vietnam from 2024.
