ABSTRACT
The US$1.45 billion Nam Theun 2 (NT2) project is the biggest hydropower project under development in Laos, with costs approaching one third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). When it reached financial closure in May 2005, NT2 became the largest ever foreign investment in Laos and the largest hydroelectric project with private-sector financing (NTPC, 2005d). The project will export 95 per cent of its 1070MW power output to neighbouring Thailand starting in late 2009.
