River diversion has been closed and the reservoir is starting to impound at the Song Bung 4 hydropower project in Vietnam, marking a major milestone for the 156MW scheme.
The first major hydropower project in Vietnam to be funded by the Asian Development Bank, it involves construction of a 110m high roller compacted concrete dam, a 3.2km long headrace tunnel of 7.2m diameter and a 16m diameter surge shaft, as well as an intake structure and powerhouse.
Mott MacDonald has acted as owner’s engineer and technical advisor on the US$250 million project since 2009. The company has provided construction supervision, contract management and specialist technical support to Electricity Vietnam, through its management unit Song Bung 4 Hydropower Management Board.
“Over the last 12 months it has been a race against time to complete the dam before this year’s rainy season so there is a great sense of achievement to reach this project milestone," said Andrew Kirby, Mott MacDonald’s project manager. "The challenges we’ve faced have been met by the development of good, open working relationships between the client, contractors, designer and our site supervision team and a proactive approach to problem solving.
“Vietnam is experiencing rising electricity demand of over 15% per year and this project will help to meet increasing power demands, whilst reducing reliance on fossil fuels."
The Song Bung 4 plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2014.
