The third unit of the four- cascade in phase II of the Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project in Laos was connected to the national grid on Oct 20, in a further landmark development for the giant hydroelectric power project, which is being built by POWERCHINA.

The project is being developed in two phases. The 550-megawatt first phase went into operation in April 2016, after which the four units of the 732 MW second phase began construction.

POWERCHINA construction workers celebrate the latest progress made in the Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project in Laos. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

To date, the project's cumulative power generation has exceeded 6 billion kilowatt hours.

During the construction, POWERCHINA used its experience to coordinate novel coronavirus prevention and control measures while handling the project's construction, an effort that brought praise from the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines.

An aerial view of the Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project in Laos. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

Originating in the area bordering Jiangcheng county in Southwest China's Yunnan province and Phongsali in northern Laos, the Nam Ou River runs 475 kilometers from north to south.

It is the largest tributary of the left bank of the Mekong River in northern Laos and is one of the country's energy sources that Laos is actively tapping.

The Nam Ou River Cascade Hydropower Project is the first hydropower development being undertaken by a Chinese company involving overall river basin planning and a build-operate-transfer (BOT) investment model.

When completed, it will generate more than 12 percent of Laos' current electricity supply. It will also provide vast supplies of energy that will power the country's industrial upgrading, major infrastructure construction and urbanization, while helping to alleviate poverty in Laos.

In addition, as a landmark project in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, it will lead to even stronger bonds between China and Laos.