Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited announced that reference to the notification to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on April 25, 2022, whereby the Company and China Datang Overseas Investment Co., Ltd. ("CDTO") under China Datang Corporati on Ltd., a state-owned enterprise and leading energy company of the People's Republic of China with over 170,000 megawatts of installed power generation capacity covering 13 countries worldwide, have entered into a Tariff Memorandum of Understanding (Tariff MOU) with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand ("EGAT") for the development of the Pak Beng Hydroelectric Power Project ("Pak Beng project"). The Pak Beng project, which is located on the Mekong River in Pak Beng district, Oudomxay province, Lao People's Democratic Republic ("Lao PDR"), has an installed capacity of 912 megawatts, and will produce and sell all of the electricity it generates to EGAT. The Company would like to provide notification that on September 13, 2023, Pak Beng Power Company Limited, a joint venture in which the Company and CDTO hold 49% and 51% equity stake, respectively, to operate the Pak Beng project, has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with EGAT for a period of 29 years from the commercial operation date with an average electricity tariff of 2.7129 Thai Baht per kilowatt-hour.

The Pak Beng project has a total investment cost of approximately THB 100,000 million and is currently in the process of securing loans from financial institutions, with the financial closing expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Construction is expected to take approximately 8 years to meet the scheduled commercial operation date in 2033. The Pak Beng project has received approval from the government and National Assembly of Lao PDR, and it has signed a Concession Agreement with the Lao PDR government on August 11, 2023.

The Pak Beng project is one of the projects under the Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand and Lao PDR regarding cooperation on the development of electrical energy in Lao PDR (MOU) to promote decarbonization and increase the deployment of clean energy during the energy transition period. Under the MOU, electricity will be purchased from power projects developed in Lao PDR and transmitted through the cross-border electricity transmission system. There is currently a framework for cooperation for the sale and purchase of electricity with a capacity of 10,500 megawatts, comprising 5,935 megawatts from 11 projects that have already started supplying electricity to the grid, 3,060 megawatts from 3 projects that have signed Power Purchase Agreements, and 815 megawatts from 2 projects that have signed Tariff MOUs.

The cooperation under the MOU also aligns with the Thai government's plan to purchase electricity from neighboring countries as specifie d in the national electricity purchasing plan. The Pak Beng project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant which does not require the creation of a reservoir or the diverting of water from the Mekong river. It will therefore not impact the volume of water in the Mekong River.

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Pak Beng project, which includes studies on sediment flushing, fish passages, resettlement for communities in Lao PDR located around the Pak Beng project area, and transboundary impacts, has already received approval from the Lao PDR government. Furthermore, the Pak Beng project has established measures to prevent and mitigate impacts covering key issues that have been considered by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). These measures will help ensure that the development and operation of the Pak Beng project is undertaken in accordance with international standards and with responsibility towards the society, environment, and all all of the project is undertaken in accordance with global standards and with responsibility towards the Society, environment, and all of the project.