Hapua agrees To form power grid joint venture

Hapua agrees To form power grid joint venture

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Delegates at the 16th meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Power Utilities/ Authorities, or Hapua, agreed in principle to set up a joint venture between member nations to invest in an Asean power grid, the Bangkok Nation newspaper said on Thursday.

Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand governor Viravat Chiyon, who presided over the Hapua meeting in Chiang Rai, Thailand, on Wednesday, said the joint-venture idea was raised during informal discussions and received a positive response from delegates from nine Asean nations, according to the Thai newspaper.

Myanmar was the only Asean nation that didn't join the meeting, but no explanation was given for the absence.

"The plan would help member countries to share resources by leveraging the Asean grid to the maximum. This will help minimize costs in developing interconnection routes between two countries that have been completed to date, such as Thailand-Malaysia or Thailand-Burma (Myanmar) routes," Viravat was quoted as saying.

The power grid project has been in the works for years but was delayed by the Asian currency crisis that hit the region in July 1997.

The Asean power grid interconnections project, which is planned to be in place by 2010, will include a 27,000-kilometer natural gas pipeline that will connect all member countries.

Asean has identified many potential interconnections in the region including Sumatera-peninsular Malaysia, Vietnam-Cambodia, Laos-Vietnam and Thailand-Myanmar.

Asean comprises Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.