Nam Khan 3 Dam Hydropower Info by Hobo Maps - Go to Hydropower Projects Page - - - HOME
Nam Khan 3 Hydropower project is the downstream site of the two hydropower projects on the Nam Khan river. Nam Khan 3 is located between the villages of Ban Donmoh and Ban Khonwai, Xieng Ngeun district, Luang Prabang Province of Lao PDR.
The dam site is accessible by a road that begins at the junction with National Road 13 near the km 362 marker. It is about 30 km distance between Nam Khan 2 & 3 dams by river.
Nam Khan 2 and 3 hydropower project locations are shown in the satellite images below (there is not a Nam Khan 1 project):
Nam Khan 3 hydropower project went into operation in 2016 and is owned by EDL GEN. The project was constructed by China’s Sinohydro Corporation at a cost of about US$ 133 million, financed in large part by a loan from China's Exim Bank.
Both Nam Khan 2 and Nam Khan 3 hydropower projects are connected to the Luang Prabang 2nd electric substation in Xieng Nguen district of Luang Prabang Province in northern Lao PDR.
The concrete gravity dam structure is 154 meters long & 67 meters high with a 3 gate spillway.
The Nam Khan river originates in Houaphan Province and flows into the Mekong River at Luang Prabang. The Nam Khan river basin catchment area covers about 7000 square km.
Nam Khan 3 project shown below at coordinates 19°44'48.9"N 102°13'19.0"E (19.746910, 102.221950):
Nam Khan 3 powerhouse is located close to the dam structure and has two Francis turbine/generator sets of 30 MW each for total capacity of 60 MW and 240 GWh annual output potential.
The penstock has a diameter of 4.3 meters.
See 2026 panorama view video of downstream side of dam structure HERE
See nice video of Nam Khan 2 & 3 HERE.
Nam Khan 3 Powerhouse images below:
The Nam Khan 3 reservoir extends about 24 km upriver and at Full Supply Level the surface is at 348 or 349 meters above sea level while at Minimum Supply Level the surface is at 343 meters above sea level.
Nam Khan 3 reservoir capacity is less than that of Nam Khan 2 power plant that normally operates on a peaking basis during daytime and not at night. Nam Khan 3 could also operate on a peaking basis but not as much as Nam Khan 2 unless timely coordinated since the water discharged from Nam Khan 2 flows directly into Nam Khan 3 reservoir..
The normal rate of discharge is 176.8 cubic meters per second.
Nam Khan 3 control and generator images below:
The project construction required 10 villages to be resettled into 655 new homes away from the project site.
The project has a 115 kV high-voltage transmission line connecting the plant to the Xieng Nguen electric station.
Nam Khan 3 reservoir image below:
Nam Khan 3 dam & powerhouse above-view images below:
Nam Khan 3 location can be seen in the upper left corner of map below.
The tunnel in lower right part of image below is for the Lao-China Railway and not part of Nam Khan 3 hydropower project.
Image of Nam Khan 3 plant below taken from Lao-China Railway train window Sept. 2023 just before entering a tunnel.
