A key symbolizing ownership of new houses provided to residents living in Laos Nam Ou River basin's Cascade Hydropower Plant project was handed to their village heads in Bau county, Luang Prabang province on Sept 27.
POWERCHINA, constructor of the Nam Ou project, invested in building new houses for the villagers who have had to resettle because of the hydro-power plant.
The project involves some 2,300 families in 10 counties of two provinces. About 12,600 residents from the area will be resettled in 23 new villages. The two villages in Bau county were the first in the second phase of the hydro-power project.
Huang Yande, general manager of Nam Ou Power Co, a POWERCHINA subsidiary, delivered the key to village representatives and donated furniture and stationery to the schools in the two villages at the unveiling ceremony.
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Huang Yande (L), general manager of Nam Ou Power Co hands over the key to the village head at the unveiling ceremony on Sept 27. [Photo/powerchina.cn] |
At the event, the company was rewarded by the provincial government for its efforts in the resettlement program.
The county head appreciated the communication mechanism between the company and local government and the well-constructed new villages. He said that the new villages have added to the beautiful scenery along the Nam Ou River and the North-South No 13 Highway.
Wang Luo, deputy consul general at the Consulate General of China in Luang Prabang, said she was “pleased and gratified” to see the public service and infrastructure facilities funded by POWERCHINA.
POWERCHINA's corporate social responsibilities ensured the resettlement program was a success, she said, adding that POWERCHINA promoted the brand of China's State-owned enterprises in Laos.
A senior provincial official called the resettlement of the two villages a model, since POWERCHINA employed Laotian constructors, bought raw materials locally and created more jobs while fully considering local architectural styles and the people's habits and customs.
He hoped the Nam Ou project would continue to improve the migrants' lives and said the government and local people would continue to support the project.
A villager was excited to move from a humid thatched cottage to the new house. He was expecting the completion of the railway connecting Laos and China and said the migrants' lives will get better.
POWERCHINA has created more than 8,000 jobs, organized various charitable activities, renovated or built roads measuring over 500 km, and constructed some 20 bridges in the project area.
It has also set up schools, hospitals and temples, greatly improving the public utilities during the construction period.
The Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Plant project comprises seven separate cascade power stations with a total installed capacity of 1,272 mW.
Phase II (including the first, third, fourth and seventh cascade hydropower stations) has a planned installed capacity of 731 mW. The principal project commenced in April 2016 and is expected to dam the river by the end of this year.
The first generating unit of the phase will come on stream at the end of 2019. The resettlement of other residents is progressing in a tight schedule and will be finished in 2020.
