Nam Tha 3 Dam Hydropower Info by Hobo Maps - Go to Hydropower Projects Page - - Home

Nam Tha 3 hydropower project is located about 3 km north of Luang Namtha town in Luang Namtha Province of northern Lao PDR.

Nam Tha 3 is pronounced as "NamTah Saam"

Be aware there is a 14 megawatt hydropower project in Vietnam with the same Nam Tha 3 name - easy to confuse these two projects on web searches.

Nam Tha 3 dam & powerhouse are located together at coordinates 21°02'00.6"N 101°24'26.0"E (21.033500, 101.407222) in images below.

Nam Tha 3 HPP is a 1.25 megawatt small project with ability to generate about 6 GWh of power each year for domestic use in Luang Namtha province via a 22 kV 5 km-long transmission line.

The project developer seems to be Huamchai Phathana who is also developer of the Nam Tha 2 Had Muak hydropower project.

One news article indicates that construction of the dam started in 1999 and was finished in June 2005 while a different article indicates power production began in 2011. Maybe the project initially used the reservoir only to control water flowing to Luang Namtha town and power production capability was added later.

Not sure who the owner of the project is. One report says the project is owned by an Independent Power Producer (IPP) so it seems not to be owned by EDL. The owner may be Huamchai Phathana or one of its affiliates.

DPS Bridge and Road Construction Company may have been involved with construction.

The project has a small reservoir that overflowed the dam in both May 2022 and September 2024 causing some damage.

Nam Tha 3 powerhouse & overflow gates images below.

Namtha 3 HPP images below from January 2025 show damage from 2024 flood event.

9 September 2024 flood images below: