Savan 1 wind power plant in Savannakhet province (Laos) officially went into commercial operation, bringing electricity from Laos to Vietnam on December 26, 2025. The event marks an important step forward in energy cooperation between the two countries, and contributes to realizing bilateral agreements on increasing the scale of electricity imports that have been agreed upon by the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Laos in recent years.
Typical cross-border renewable energy project
According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, Savan 1 is one of the typical projects in the cross-border renewable energy sector, contributing to concretizing the goal of increasing electricity imports under the Agreement between the two Governments of Vietnam and Laos, while affirming the increasingly clear role of the private economic sector in large-scale infrastructure projects with transnational elements. The project is invested by T&T Group, located in Savannakhet province - an area with favorable wind potential.
According to the design, Savan 1 Wind Power Plant has a total installed capacity of 495 MW, with a total investment of about 768 million USD. In phase 1, the project completed and put into operation 48 wind turbines, with a total capacity of 300 MW, equivalent to a total investment of more than 490 million USD. According to the Ambassador, this is the largest onshore wind power project that T&T Group has implemented to date, and also the opening project for the group's cross-border energy investment strategy.
According to the analysis of the Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, the implementation of the Savan 1 project is associated with the bilateral legal corridor and close coordination between management agencies and related businesses of the two countries. Previously, in August 2024, the Prime Minister of Vietnam approved the policy of importing electricity from the Savan 1 Wind Power Plant project, creating a legal basis for signing an electricity purchase and sale contract between Savan 1 Wind Power Company Limited and Vietnam Electricity Group.
On the Lao side, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has awarded a concession contract to T&T Group from January 2025, allowing the investor to design, build, own and operate the project for a term of 25 years, with the goal of exporting electricity to Vietnam. According to the Ambassador, the agreement and synchronous implementation of legal procedures has created favorable conditions for the project to be implemented on schedule and put into commercial operation according to plan.
One of the notable points of the Savan 1 project, according to the Ambassador, is the implementation progress and construction organization capacity of Vietnamese enterprises participating in the project. In a period of 14 months, the general contractor consortium completed a large volume of work, from terrain survey, technical design, transportation of super-heavy and super-long equipment to installation and completion of 48 wind turbines.
In parallel with the construction of the plant, the power transmission infrastructure is also invested synchronously to ensure capacity discharge and stable connection with the Vietnamese power system.
The investor has completed a 220 kV transmission line of more than 50 km long, connecting Savan 1 Wind Power Plant with the Vietnamese border area by the end of August 2025. The simultaneous completion of power sources and transmission grid infrastructure, according to the Ambassador, has helped the project reach the commercial operation milestone on schedule, limiting the risk of slow connection and improving exploitation efficiency right from the first phase of operation, thereby contributing to ensuring the sustainability and long-term efficiency of the project.
In terms of finance, according to the Ambassador, the Savan 1 project is implemented on the basis of a feasible financial plan, with the participation of reputable credit institutions. Military Bank (MB) plays the role of the focal bank to arrange and allocate the entire funding package for phase 1 of the project.
The participation of domestic financial institutions, according to the Ambassador, shows confidence in the feasibility, effectiveness and long-term prospects of cross-border renewable energy projects, while opening up a positive precedent for capital mobilization for large-scale infrastructure projects in the coming time.
From a specific project to long-term economic - policy significance
According to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, for Savannakhet province, the Savan 1 project contributes to creating more jobs for local workers in the construction and operation process, promoting supporting economic activities, and partially improving transport infrastructure to serve construction. With an expected electricity output of more than 800 million kWh per year, the project contributes to diversifying electricity supply sources, strengthening energy security and promoting economic cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.
Not only stopping at the economic - technical meaning, according to the Ambassador, the Savan 1 project is also associated with the implementation of Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo on private economic development and the "Go Global" Program chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
In the coming time, according to the assessment of the Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, the commercial operation of Savan 1 Wind Power Plant will create a premise for the parties to continue researching and implementing the next phases, towards a total capacity of 495 MW according to the design. Thereby, the project continues to contribute to the sustainable energy transition process, while strengthening energy cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in a stable, efficient and long-term direction.
