Laos is advancing 47 electricity projects with a combined capacity of 8,260 megawatts for export to Vietnam, a senior official said this week, as its neighbor raises its import target.

For investors in the region, the numbers show how far the Laos-Vietnam power trade has moved from plans to contracts. All 47 projects already hold concession agreements, import approvals from Vietnam and power purchase agreements, according to Aphisid Sengsourivong, director general of the Department of Enterprise Management at the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce. He gave the figures at a briefing for journalists organized by the Asian Development Bank during a visit to the Monsoon Wind Power Project, the Vientiane Times reported in a story carried by The Star on Thursday. Vietnam's state news agency VietnamPlus reported the same figures.

Two-thirds of Laos's export capacity is not yet running

Thirteen of the plants, with 2,763 MW, are operating. The other 34, with 5,497 MW, have not started commercial operation and are expected to be finished before 2030, Aphisid said. A further 16 proposed projects with about 10,618 MW are in feasibility studies; whether they go ahead depends on financing, technical work and agreements with buyers.

The pipeline lines up with a target set by the two governments. Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the state utility, has said Hanoi and Vientiane agreed in January 2025 on a minimum of 8,000 MW of imports from Laos by 2030, up from an earlier goal of 5,000 MW.

Flows are already rising. Vietnam bought 2.92 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from Laos in the first quarter of 2026, almost 120% more than a year earlier, according to figures from Tuoi Tre News cited in the report.

Transmission lines are the bottleneck for Vietnam Electricity imports

Generation is not the main problem, officials said. Transmission capacity is. The Lao government is assessing how much its grid can carry, pushing for faster approvals and negotiating connection points and tariffs with the Vietnamese side.

There is also a supply risk. Hydropower has made up 80% to 90% of Laos's electricity exports, which leaves output exposed to low water in the dry season. Wind is meant to smooth that out.

The Monsoon project, the site of this week's briefing, shows how the model works. The 600 MW wind farm spans Dakcheung district in Xekong province and Sanxay district in Attapeu province and uses 133 turbines. It began commercial operation on Aug. 22, 2025, and sells its output to EVN under a 25-year power purchase agreement, according to the report.

Power from the turbines is stepped up to 500 kilovolts at the project substation, then carried along a 27-kilometer line to the border, where it joins Vietnam's 500 kV system and continues 44 kilometers to EVN's Thanh My substation, Windtech International reported when the plant opened. Shareholders include Thailand's Impact Electrons Siam, which initiated the project, the Philippines' ACEN, Thailand's BCPG and STP&I, and Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation through its unit Diamond Generating Asia, along with a Lao partner.

The Asian Development Bank arranged a $692.55 million financing package. Lenders included the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which approved $150 million on Nov. 9, 2022, as well as the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank.

Aphisid said the wind farm might not have been built without Vietnamese demand, and that Laos previously lacked detailed rules for assessing such projects.

What the Laos power pipeline means for regional investors

The project gives a template for cross-border renewable finance in the Mekong region: a Lao concession, a long-dated contract with a state buyer next door and a lender group led by a development bank. Several Thai, Philippine and Japanese listed companies already hold stakes.

More wind projects are being studied, including schemes linked to Truong Son, Savan and Xekong. Vietnamese investors are pursuing the 495 MW Savan 2 wind farm in Savannakhet province, the report said.

The local economics are modest so far. The Monsoon farm employs about 300 people, about 70% of them Lao nationals, and paid more than $600,000 in royalties during its first months of operation in 2025.

For Laos, the figure to watch is how many of the 34 unfinished plants, holding 5,497 MW, reach commercial operation before the 2030 deadline, and whether new transmission links are approved in time to carry their power.