Northern Cross-Border Power Trade and Distribution Project (ADB-51329-002)

Countries
  • Laos
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Luang Namtha, Bokeo, and Phongsaly
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Nov 22, 2017
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Laos
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Technical Cooperation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 0.80 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jul 20, 2020

Disclosed by Bank Nov 27, 2017

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the bank website, the proposed Northern Cross-Border Power Trade and Distribution Project aims to promote regional power exchange in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and expand access to energy in several northern provinces in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The project will help address Lao PDR’s need to: (i) expand access to low-cost, reliable power in rural areas; and (ii) develop power interconnections between Lao PDR and Thailand and Myanmar to increase power trade. The project will support the national electric utility, Electricite du Laos (EDL), with the following outputs: (i) electricity distribution expanded in the provinces of Luang Namtha, Bokeo, and Phongsaly, including provision of at least 8,000 household electricity meters; and (ii) cross-border transmission line(s) connecting Lao PDR with Thailand and/or Myanmar constructed. The outcome will be domestic electricity consumption and cross-border electricity trade increased. The impact will be Lao PDR graduated from least developed country status, as stated in the Vision 2030 and National Ten-Year Socio-Economic Development Strategy, 2016–2025.

Project due diligence will (i) evaluate the feasibility of one or more high-voltage cross- border connections between Lao PDR and Thailand and/or Myanmar, consisting of the following options:
(a) from Ban Tonpheng (Bokeo Province, Lao PDR) to Mea Chan (Thailand),
(b) from Ban Tonpheng (Bokeo Province, Lao PDR) to Shan State (Myanmar), and
(c) from Meung Long (Luang Namtha, Lao PDR) to Shan State (Myanmar)

(ii) conduct a system study of cross-border interconnector options of 115/230/500 kilovolt as may be determined and evaluate the feasibility of using high-temperature low-sag conductors; (iii) determine the optimal combination of on-grid and/or off-grid solutions for rural electrification in three northern provinces (Luang Namtha, Bokeo, and Phongsaly) through a least-cost electrification planning approach; and (iv) develop an investment plan for the various electrification options.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Electricite du Laos
Samsenethai Road, P.O. Box 309
Vientiane
Lao People's Democratic Republic

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main

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