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Klohn Crippen Berger Receives the 2010 Canadian Consulting Engineering

Award of Excellence

Vancouver, Canada, October 28, 2010 --(PR.com)-- A distinguished jury of professional engineers from
business, government and academia have honoured Canadian engineering firm, Klohn Crippen Berger
(KCB) for their work on the Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project (NT2) in Laos.

The NT2 project is a long-term collaborative effort between Laos and Thailand to develop up to 3000
MW of hydropower energy in Laos for export to Thailand. KCB participated in the NT2 project as the
designer for the two main civil works packages comprising the hydro facilities. The NT2 project is one of
the most important infrastructure developments in the country and a key driver supporting growth and
advancement of Laos and its people.

The Nam Theun River, a major tributary of the Mekong River, is situated on the Nakai plateau between
the Mekong River and the Annamite Mountains delineating the eastern border of Laos with Vietnam. The
project required the water to be diverted from the Nam Theun River to a powerhouse located at the base
of the Nakai escarpment and from there to Mekong.

This river experiences a large annual flood event which proved a challenge for the Design-Build
Constructor. Rather than incurring significant costs to divert the flood waters, KCB recommended an
innovative flood handling plan using a small diversion tunnel and roller- compacted concrete construction
(RCC). The RCC construction was done during the dry season windows over three years with the site
area being flooded during the wet seasons.

The project's underground works are large in scale and complex in design. This is especially true for the
pressure shaft and tunnels that divert the water. To manage the flow, KCB designed one of the largest
pressure-diameter bifurcations (tunnels) in the world. In order to handle the load and rock stresses, KCB's
design required the use of high strength steels of thicknesses that would not normally be seen on
hydroelectric projects. This set a precedent for the use of steel types and thicknesses in the hydro
industry.

The benefits of the project are many: economically, the people of the area will now have access to
inexpensive electricity and have a resource for export; socially, the surrounding areas benefitted from the
schools, community buildings, roads, houses and jobs that were developed in the project area; and a
Poverty Reduction Fund is being implemented by Laos and the World bank with direct funding from the
NT2 energy revenues. A substantial portion of the revenues will flow back to Laos and the NT2 will
contribute annual revenues equal to 7 to 9% of Lao national budget or a total of $2billion USD over the
25 year concession period.

Klohn Crippen Berger offers global engineering and environmental services to the mining, power,
transportation, oil sands, offshore and pipeline and water resource sectors worldwide. KCB was named
one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies in 2009.

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Contact Information:
Klohn Crippen Berger
Kathy Fowler
604.669.3800
kfowler@klohn.com
www.klohn.com

Online Version of Press Release:


You can read the online version of this press release at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/273100

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