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Nam Ngum III and IV
hydropower development projects

(Laos)

First of all, on a personal note, these projects give me the satisfaction of being able to work
once again in Laos for EDL (Électricité du Laos). I first got to know and appreciate the country
and the client back in the 1990s, when I took part in the Nam Leuk project, one of the first
major hydropower development schemes in Laos (60 MW capacity, commissioned in 2000).
These two projects on the As a young engineer working for Sogreah, I benefited from the aura surrounding the company,
River Nam Ngum are part which was considered to be the benchmark consulting engineer for this type of work in the
of Laos’ development policy country. It is thus a great pleasure for me to be able to continue this story in the name of Artelia.
as the country aims to make
hydropower one of the Secondly, Nam Ngum III is an extraordinary project. It presents a challenge in terms of both its
cornerstones of its economic size and the complex geological environment in which it is situated. Rising to 210 m, it is one
expansion. At 210 m, Nam of the tallest concrete face rockfill dams in the world. Everything about this type of structure
Ngum III is also one of the tallest is gigantic: key figures include 13 million cubic metres of rockfill, 11 kilometres of hydraulic
dams in the world and one of tunnels, 130 km of HV transmission lines, 60 km of access roads, and 2000 people mobilised
the largest hydropower projects on site by the works contractor.
currently being implemented on Lastly, it is an astonishing human adventure that has galvanised the entire Artelia team
the planet. dedicated to dams and hydropower development. Six of our colleagues are resident on site,
ten more have been recruited in the country and nearly as many of our experts specialising in
civil, electromechanical and geotechnical engineering and the environment are dividing their
time between France and Laos. This team has enabled us to take responsibility for reviewing
and validating the design studies and supervising the works, while at the same time managing
some 50 site engineers assigned to the operation by EDL. Over a hundred people are thus
engaged in managing this project.
We hope that we are writing a page in the history of both Laos and Artelia, giving the engineers
involved in the operation the desire to continue the adventure with other projects in other
countries, thus taking part in their economic and human development.

Xavier Ducos
Director, Dams, Hydropower and Infrastructure | Water & Africa Middle East

128 I ARTELIA, 10 YEARS OF EXISTENCE, 100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE