Construction of a 250-megawatt hydroelectric plant with Vietnamese investment has begun in Laos' southern Sekong province, Vietnamese newspaper Labor reported Thursday.

The Sekaman No. 3 plant with total investment of 273 million U. S. dollars is expected to generate over one billion kwh of electricity annually. Its first turbine is scheduled to operate in 2009, providing electricity for Laos' southern localities and Vietnam.

The 25-year power project is conducted in the form of build- operate-transfer (BOT) by a Vietnamese joint stock company. It is the biggest Vietnamese-invested project in foreign countries, the report said.

Source: Xinhua