Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has given the go-ahead to the Vietnam-Laos Power Company to increase investment in the Sekaman 3 hydroelectric project up to US$311.7 million from the initial US$273.1 million.

Construction of the 250 MW power plant started in the Lao province of Se Kong in April 2006 under the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT).

Eighty-five percent of the total investment is contributed by the Vietnam-Laos Power Company, while the rest is funded by the Lao Government.

Sekaman 3 is one of the five hydroelectric projects Vietnamese companies are building in Laos under an energy cooperation programme signed between the two governments. The projects have a combined capacity of 2,500 MW with an estimated output of 6.69 billion kWh per annum. (VNA)