Savan 2 expected to begin commercial operation in late 2028

On 8 October in Vientiane, T&T Group and Vinacom Investment and Trading Company exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation to develop, invest in and operate the Savan 2 wind power project. The exchange was witnessed by Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Lao Prime Minister Saleumxay Kommasith during the official visit to Laos by the Vietnamese Prime Minister and a high-level Vietnamese delegation.

Studies are under way for the development of Savan 2 in Nong District, Savannakhet Province, with a planned capacity of 495 MW and total investment of US$768 million. The project is expected to begin commercial operation no later than 31 December 2028. Cooperation between the Vietnamese and Lao governments provides a favourable policy framework for the project. In their cooperation agreement and plan for 2026, the two sides included T&T Group’s Savan 2 among the projects whose construction and commercial operation would be facilitated in accordance with each country’s laws.

The intergovernmental agreement also sets out a policy of facilitating investment in power projects in Laos that sell electricity to Vietnam. It calls for the two sides to coordinate studies of interconnecting transmission lines, determine capacity and implement projects eligible to export electricity to Vietnam by 2030.

The Vietnamese government is also seeking to increase electricity imports from Laos and expand connections with power systems elsewhere in the region. Under the revised Power Development Plan VIII, electricity imports are projected to reach approximately 9,360–12,100 MW by 2030, with the aim of maximising Vietnam’s capacity to import electricity from Laos under the agreement between the two governments. Once Savan 2 enters operation, the two wind farms will together provide Vietnam’s power system with nearly 1 GW of renewable generation capacity, including 495 MW from Savan 1’s two phases. This will help diversify the generation mix, strengthen national energy security and support the country’s goal of double-digit economic growth in the coming period.

Beyond its contribution to the power system, the development of Savan 2 will also stimulate construction, transport, services and trade in localities along the Vietnam–Laos corridor, particularly Savannakhet and the provinces in Vietnam’s North Central region connected through the Lao Bao border crossing. The project will thereby help stabilise local livelihoods, strengthen socioeconomic conditions and maintain security and public order in border areas.

Savan 1 provides a strong foundation

The 48 turbines in the first phase of T&T Group’s Savan 1 wind farm in Savannakhet have been in commercial operation since late December 2025, with a total capacity of 300 MW. The project supplies approximately 900 million kWh of electricity to Vietnam each year.

A notable feature of Savan 1 was its rapid implementation. The entire process, from completing the necessary procedures to constructing the wind farm, developing transmission infrastructure and connecting to the grid, took approximately 16 months. This is considered an exceptionally fast pace for a large cross-border wind power project.

After completing the necessary legal procedures, T&T Group coordinated the construction of the wind farm and transmission infrastructure in parallel. Alongside turbine installation, the group and its contractors built access roads for the construction site, bridges to transport oversized and exceptionally heavy equipment, and a 220 kV transmission line stretching nearly 70 kilometres to the Lao Bao 220 kV substation. After just over six months of construction, the transmission line from Savan 1 in Laos was connected to the 220 kV line on the Vietnamese side. The ability to use transmission infrastructure already built for Savan 1 will give Savan 2 a further advantage in shortening its development timeline and meeting its schedule.

Alongside construction progress, the ability to arrange financing was another important factor in Savan 1’s development. During the preparatory stage, Savan 1 Wind Power Company signed an agreement with Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) to arrange financing and secured a funding package of more than US$490 million for phase one. Since completion and the start of commercial operation, the project has provided further evidence of its financial performance through actual cash flow, recording approximately US$36.5 million in revenue in just under seven months of commercial operation.

The successful delivery of a cross-border wind project through its full development cycle, from arranging finance to entering operation and generating actual revenue, provides an important basis for lenders to assess T&T Group’s project delivery capabilities. This track record will also put the group in a stronger position to arrange financing for Savan 2.

With 48 turbines already generating electricity at Savan 1 in Savannakhet and the nearly 500 MW Savan 2 project working towards commercial operation in late 2028, T&T Group continues to expand its wind power investments in Laos. Experience from Savan 1 in arranging finance, organising construction and developing transmission infrastructure in step with the wind farm provides grounds to expect Savan 2 to be completed on schedule, adding to Vietnam’s electricity supply and contributing to economic and energy cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.