New Khounkham Hospital Equipped by Theun-Hinboun
Khounkham, June 6, 2017A new hospital in Khounkham District, Khammouane Province, is offering improved care for patients with a range of illnesses and conditions following a second donation of equipment by the Theun-Hinboun Power Company (THPC).
On May 31 THPC staff delivered an ambulance and various items of medical emergency equipment to the hospital along with sets of basic supplies and medicines. This followed an earlier handover, in March this year, of obstetric equipment for childbirth and the care of expecting mothers and new-born babies.
The donated equipment, valued at over US$52,000, was previously installed in a clinic at the nearby Theun-Hinboun site. The THPC clinic has for many years acted as the de facto hospital for people living in the area, but with the opening of the new district hospital, THPC is transferring vital equipment to the new facility so that it can serve the local community. Many of the district health staff have trained with THPC over the past few years in preparation for the opening of the hospital.
Soulideth Baomanikhoth, the Deputy General Manager of THPC, said that Khounkham District had grown enormously since the beginning of the Theun-Hinboun project and it was encouraging to see the district taking on responsibility for providing public services. “This is a sign of the positive development of the area, and THPC is proud to have played a role in the economic development of Khounkham, and in building the capacity of the local health service”.
Overhaul Boosts Theun-Hinboun Output
Vientiane, March 24, 2017
The Theun-Hinboun Power Company (THPC) now has an overall generating capacity of 520 megawatts (MW) following the recent completion of a major overhaul. Efficiency tests conducted on a second new turbine installed at the company’s Theun-Hinboun Powerhouse in Khammouane province confirmed that the overhaul has added at least 20 MW of production capacity, while the plant uses the same volume of water as before the upgrade.
Replacement of the turbine and maintenance of the generator for the TH1 Unit was undertaken between December 2016 and February this year by staff from THPC’s Operations and Maintenance Division (OMD), alongside engineers from Rainpower and GE in Norway.
The work was completed one week ahead of schedule, allowing the upgraded unit to go into production in late February, alongside the TH2 unit, which received a similar upgrade last year. The two units, now rated at 120 MW each at full load, first began operating in March 1998. With the 220-MW TH3 unit and the two 30-MW units at the project’s upstream Nam Gnouang Powerhouse, installed as part of the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project in 2012, THPC now has a maximum operating capacity of 520 MW.
THPC’s Deputy General Manager, Soulideth Baomanikhoth, congratulated the company’s OMD team and the contractors for finishing the work ahead of tight deadlines and with a perfect safety record. “This investment increases both the long-term efficiency and safety of our plant,” said Mr Soulideth. “We can now increase our contribution to the Lao economy by exporting more power while using no more water”.
THPC has so far contributed over US$465 million to the government since starting operations. With 60% of its shares owned by EDL-Gen, THPC is the only independent power producer in the country under Lao majority control, and 99% of the company’s workforce are Lao nationals.
THPC Hands Waste Facility to Public Ownership
Khounkham District, September 23, 2016
The Theun-Hinboun Power Company (THPC) has handed over a landfill site for disposal of public waste to authorities in Khounkham District, Khammouane Province, as part of its commitment to community development and environmental protection.
Mr Thavone Keokhamphanh, Deputy District Governor of Khounkham, officially accepted the facility for public ownership, saying the landfill was a valuable community asset.
The facility was built on public land leased to THPC in 2009 with two purposes: to receive waste from construction of the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project, and to provide a solution to the growing amount of rubbish generated by Khounkham town and surrounding villages, which increased significantly in size following the development of the Theun-Hinboun power plants.
The expansion project was completed in late 2012 and since then THPC has managed the landfill site for public use, instituting recycling projects and training local staff how to run the facility. Any hazardous waste from THPC’s operations, such as engine oil or batteries, has been stored separately from the landfill pits, or passed to specialist contractors for recycling or safe disposal.
Ms Vongchanh Indavong, THPC’s Senior Environment and Commercial Manager, said the facility had been designed to international standards at a cost of around US$150,000. It is lined with geotextiles to minimise seepage of pollutants into the environment and equipped with a series of ponds that store and treat runoff water from the pit area. Ms Vongchanh said the current pit at the landfill could take local rubbish for several more years, depending on how much waste can be recycled. Further pits could also be installed at the site.
Khounkham’s District Office for Natural Resources and the Environment has made an agreement with a local recycling company, which will operate the landfill under contract and use revenue from recycling local rubbish to cover the costs of managing the facility. THPC has meanwhile agreed to continue monitoring wastewater quality at the site for a further year after the handover and will provide district staff with additional training on waste management.
The company has also constructed landfill facilities in three resettlement villages in the Theun-Hinboun project area and is working with communities to improve waste management and increase recycling.
Speaking after the transfer of ownership documents at the Theun-Hinboun site in the district, Mr Thavone said that Khounkham was fortunate THPC had provided so much investment in infrastructure and in villages across the district. Earlier this year the company handed over schools and health centres built for relocated villages along the Hinboun River, and has also invested in roads, irrigation schemes and water and electricity supplies.
THPC constructed the landfill pit and water treatment ponds in 2009, and has operated the site for the use of the whole district, handing it over to public ownership in September 2016.
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TH Major Overhaul Completed
New Schools and Clinics Up and Running in Khounkham
Khounkham District, June 28, 2016
Two new schools and two new health centres built by the Theun-Hinboun Power Company (THPC) are serving communities in Khounkham District, Khammouane.
The health centres, secondary schools and primary schools were constructed over the past year in the new villages of Phaxang and Phakhouak. While they have been open to the public since early 2016, the facilities were officially handed over to local authorities at a ceremony in Ban Phaxang on June 28.
Phaxang and Phakhouak are being built to provide new flood-safe villages for over 750 households along the Hinboun River. THPC has built eight new villages along the Hinboun and Hai rivers as part of the Theun-Hinboun Expansion Project, which was inaugurated in early 2013.
The health centres at Phaxang and Phakhouak cover the populations of six villages and also provide services to other communities in the area. The clinics follow the government Type B standard and come with furniture, medical and office equipment, toilets and medicine supplies. THPC has also organised training sessions for health centre staff on public health management and new techniques.
The new primary and secondary schools also have toilets, while THPC has provided libraries and books, classroom furniture and teaching equipment to foster educational development in the communities. At the handover ceremony, Mrs Surapha Viravong, deputy director of the company’s social and environmental division, said that THPC has invested around US$467,000 in the new schools and health centres. She said that while THPC would continue to support the villagers as they build their livelihoods, the villagers and local authorities would need to take responsibility for managing and maintaining the new public facilities.
Accepting the new facilities on behalf of Khounkham District, district governor Mr Keolandon Chanthaphany said that THPC had done a great deal to boost development across Khounkham, providing various communities with improved housing roads, infrastructure and public services.
Left and centre: Students arrive at the new Phaxang secondary school to take their end-of-year exams in May 2016. Miss Chanpha, left, washing her hands in the rain, said that the new school has a major advantage over their old village school: the roof does not leak when it rains, making exams much easier to sit.
Right: Action for Lao Children and the National Library have helped THPC establish libraries in all schools at project relocation and resettlement villages.