Our History The potential of the Nam Theun River on the Nakai Plateau for hydroelectric power was identified as early as 1927, but it was not until the mid-1970s that detailed studies of the feasibility of a project began. In the late 1980s the Lao government targeted Nam Theun 2 as a key vehicle for the economic and social development of the nation, and invited the World Bank to participate in the Project. The government and various private investors set up a company and named "Nam Theun 2 Electricity Consortium (NTEC)" to research and develop the scheme. In 1994 Electricit? de France and the Italian-Thai Development Company of Thailand joined the Project, and Nam Theun 2 moved from a conceptual to a development phase. The design and preparation of a complete set of economic, environmental and social safeguards took more than ten years, during which time NTEC became the Nam Theun 2 Power Company Limited, or NTPC. Project financing was gradually put in place and full construction activities commenced in June 2005.