Tuesday 19 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Mega First Corp Bhd said the construction of the Don Sahong Hydropower Project (DSHP) in Laos has not been affected by the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam there.

Its board gave the assurance after making enquiries with the management of Don Sahong Power Company (DSPC) and the project consultants, it said in a Bursa Malaysia filing today.

“At this juncture, the Board concurs with the management of DSPC and its consultants that the incident is unlikely to result in any delay in the completion of the Don Sahong Project or a material change in the overall cost of the project,” it said.

It said that the company’s board is satisfied that present and future dam safety risks remain low and are continuously being monitored and managed in accordance with the industry and international best practices.

“As regards to the current status, construction of the DSHP is still ongoing and currently is 65% complete and filling the headpond with water from Mekong River is scheduled for the next wet season in 2019,” the company said in a statement.

DSHP is the group’s first venture into renewable energy. According to the group’s website, DSHP has a generation capacity of 260 megawatts (MW).

The project is a run-of-river hydroelectric power scheme located in the Khong District of Champasak Province in southern Laos.

The group had secured loan facilities amounting to US$150million (or RM607.17 million) to part finance the construction of DSHP on October last year.

On Monday, a dam that formed part of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project collapsed, causing flooding in six villages in the Attapeu province.

At least 20 people have been reported to be killed and more than 6,000 villagers made homeless.   

Mega First’s shares closed six sen or 1.67% lower at RM3.54, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.49 billion.

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