Son Lam Co.,Ltd Enhances Capacity, Sustainable Development

Son Lam Co., Ltd was set up with an initial registered capital of VND42 billion in April 1995 from the restructuring of Son Lam Construction, Installation and Building Material Production Enterprise. In its first days, the company was only involved in building small scale civil works. Under the light of sound development strategies, the company quickly expanded its operation scopes into other fields. Accumulating experience, the firm was able to undertake larger civil, traffic and irrigational projects, manufacture and trade construction materials, and provide commercial services and trucking.

 

Uplifting the brand name

To serve local economic development, Son Lam shifted into hydropower construction and hydroelectricity business. Director Pham Cong Nhan said: "After many years of building and installing in harsh conditions, the company has accumulated much experience in this field. Besides, the province has many advantages for hydropower production, such as high springs, steep rivers, and high rainfall. This inspired me to invest in the hydropower sector.”

 

One of the first hydropower projects the company carried out was the Song Chung hydropower plant (Song Con 2) in Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province. The facility has three turbines with a designed capacity of 19.5 MW, costing VND500 billion in total. Kicked off in the fourth quarter of 2007, the construction encountered numerous difficulties with unfavourable weather, notably flooding. However, the management had anticipated such difficulties when the company embarked on the project. It prepared sufficient supplies, materials, finances and modern equipment to ensure construction progress and attract experienced specialists, engineers and skilled workers to participate in the project. At each step of technical progress, the project was closely supervised and examined to detect errors and settle them immediately.

With its persevering efforts, on April 28, 2011, the Song Chung hydropower plant started generating commercial electricity and was connected with the national power grid on May 1, 2011. Each year, the power plant will generate more than 70 million kWh of electricity for the power grid and pay about VND10 billion of taxes to the State Budget.

 

Speaking about the business development strategy, Director Pham Cong Nhan said the company will make use of the Song Chung hydropower plant, work closely with Chinese partners to acquire technologies for running small and medium hydropower plants, and manufacture equipment for small and medium power plants instead of importing from foreign nations. In addition, the firm will take on the construction of small and medium hydropower projects in Ha Giang province and other northern mountainous provinces. It is now completing procedures for building the 24-MW Song Lo power plant, which is estimated to cost some VND700 billion.

 

Director Pham Cong Nhan added that the company always stresses quality, safety and prestige. These criteria have lifted the position of the company in all aspects of operation. At present, Son Lam has expanded its business operations throughout Ha Giang province and neighbouring provinces.

 

Besides, Director Pham Cong Nhan said, after achieving success in the hydropower sector, the company plans to build the 50-ha Nam Cau Me urban zone in Ha Giang City, costing some VND600 billion. This will be the most modern of its kind in Ha Giang province.