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6 May 2004 - Vietnam's Son La Province authorities are committed to clearing the site and resettling households to begin construction of the 2400 MW hydroelectric Son La Hydro-electric plant ahead of schedule, said provincial People's Committee Chairman Ha Hung.
Residents living in the area of what will be the country's largest hydro-electric plant will be resettled to another area in the north-west province of Son La, said Hung with work on the plant scheduled to commence September 2005.
Provincial authorities said the plant would offer the province the opportunity to shift their economic structure rapidly towards industrialisation. However, resettlement of the indigenous population posed a challenge to the provincial
government.
One provincial leader said resettlement was a "sensitive" issue stemming from a series of problems related to local people's rights and customs and land policies. The Son La authorities plan to move 91,000 people by 2008.
Vu Duc Thin, head of the power plant's management board said a road connecting Son La Township to the construction site was expected to be finished by the end of April. Roads to the East and West of the future dam was expected to open to traffic soon.
According to Electricity of Vietnam, the plant will cost $2.5bn to build; 70 per cent of which is slated to come from domestic sources, the plant's profits and the issuance of bonds.
To limit the chances of a power shortage in the next six years, the general director of EVN Dao Van Hung said the first turbine would be on-line by the end of 2010, two years before schedule. The plants final turbine would begin generating power three years ahead of schedule, by 2012.
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