Work on the 1,920MW Hoa Binh hydropower plant, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, started in 1979 and it was put into full operation in 1994.

Over the past decades, the plant has been seen as a symbol of not only the sustainable and good friendship between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union (now Russia), but also of the domestic electricity sector.

Covering an area of 99.62 hectares in Hoa Binh city, the expanded project is invested by the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) with a total funding of over VND9.22 trillion (US$398.9 million), 30 percent of which is arranged by EVN and the remaining 70 percent comes from commercial loans without a government guarantee.

It comprises two turbines with a total capacity of 480MW and electricity output of about 488.3 million kWh per year.

The first turbine is scheduled to be put into operation in the third quarter of 2024, and the second will come into service in the last quarter of the year.

Addressing the ceremony, PM Phuc described hydropower projects on the Da River as a symbol of national industrialisation and modernisation.

He lauded contributions by the power sector to national development, saying 99.3 percent of rural households have get access to electricity, and Vietnam ranks 27th among 199 countries and territories in electricity access index.

The expanded project will help to raise the combined capacity of the Hoa Binh, Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants to over 6,000MW, he added.

The government leader asked EVN and relevant units to ensure the progress and quality of the project, and minimise its impact on local residents.

PM Phuc also requested Hoa Binh province to soon complete the land clearance work and ensure security and safety for the project.