Foreign hands trusted for power plans power projects on the headlines

Foreign investors have gained the Vietnamese government’s growing trust to undertake power projects.

The government this month gave in-principle approval for South Korea’s Taekwang Vina, in partnership with Vietnam’s Hashinco, to build a 2,400 megawatt coal-fired plant in the north and a consortium of CLP Holdings of Hong Kong, Mitsubishi Corporation, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and Pacific Corporation of Vietnam to build a 2,000MW coal-fired power plant in the south. Both of the gigantic projects will be developed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

Following the government’s permission, Taekwang and Hashinco would invest $4.5 billion in developing the power plant on 251 hectares in Nam Dinh’s Hai Hau district between now and 2021.

The joint venture company, in which the South Korea firm will have a 95 per cent stake, ambitiously plans to earn an average of at least $1 billion from selling electricity to the national grid per year once it becomes fully operational.

Nguyen Xuan Tuyen, director of Nam Dinh Industrial Parks Management Authority, told VIR the province anticipated the establishment of the Nam Dinh coal-fired power plant, which would be the largest foreign-invested project in the province.

“When the plant begins operating, it will create more than 1,000 direct jobs for Nam Dinh, contributing to the province’s economic structure shift towards industrialisation,” said Tuyen, adding the project was expected to be licenced this year.

Meanwhile, the consortium of CLP Holdings of Hong Kong, Mitsubishi Corporation, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and Pacific Corporation of Vietnam will invest in Vinh Tan 3 power plant in Binh Thuan province, which is projected to be operational by 2015.

Vinh Tan 3 is the anchor project in the 4,400MW Vinh Tan power complex, about 250 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, the development of which also include one of the largest open-seaport in Vietnam to accommodate up to 150,000 dead weight tonnage coal ships.

The 1,200MW Vinh Tan 1 is developed by China Southern Power Grid Company and China Power International Holding Company in partnership with Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) and the 1,200MW Vinh Tan 2 is developed by the EVN. Only Vinh Tan 2 is now under construction.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s (MPI) Foreign Investment Agency said that the licencing and implementation of the foreign-invested power projects would be a breakthrough for Vietnam in attracting overseas investment throughout 2010.

Currently, Vietnam has only two major foreign-invested power projects, the Phu My 2.2 and Phu My 3 plants, and no foreign investors have successfully negotiated investing in power plants in Vietnam since 2001.

Electricity selling price negotiations are considered the hardest jobs for foreign investors in Vietnam’s power sector.

For instance, it took three years for the US’ AES to negotiate with the EVN over the electricity prices for its proposed 1,200MW Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant in partnership with the Vinacomin in the northern Quang Ninh province. The BOT plant has an estimated investment of $1.4 billion.

Vinacomin and AES are now waiting for prime ministerial approval for their negotiated power prices so that their project will be licenced by the MPI. The Mong Duong 2 was said to become a model for other foreign-invested power projects in Vietnam.

At present, Malaysian Jaks Resources is also negotiating power prices with the EVN for its approved 1,200MW coal-fired power plant in northern Hai Duong province and so is Malaysian Janakuasa for its 1,200MW Duyen Hai 2 in southern Tra Vinh province.

VietNamNet/VIR

Tags: Vietnam energy, Vietnam power projects