BOT deal inked for power plant

The US-invested developer of the US$2.1 billion Mong Duong 2 thermal power plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh signed a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract with the Ministry of Industry and Trade last week, as well as other agreements related to land leasing, purchasing, power supply during construction, water supply and Government guarantees.

The developer, Mong Duong AES-TKV, is a joint venture of American Electric Supply Inc (AES) and the Vietnamese State-owned mining giant, the Vinacomin Group. The US group has contributed 90 per cent of the capital for the venture with Vinacomin providing the remaining 10 per cent.

The Mong Duong 2 power plant project, with an estimated capacity of 1,200MW and an anticipated annual output of 8.1 billion kWh when it becomes operational in 2015, has become the first power plant project to be built under a BOT contract since 2001, said Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang at the signing ceremony.

The project was expected to facilitate further foreign investment in the nation’s energy sector, Hoang said.

US Ambassador to Viet Nam Michael W Michalak called the contract signing a significant manifestation of the rapid growth of economic co-operation between Viet Nam and the US. It was also evidence of AES’s long-term commitment to Viet Nam’s energy development via public-private partnership (PPP) model, Michalak said.

He urged the nation’s Ministry of Planning and Investment to issue laws on PPPs that would create equal competition for foreign investors in Viet Nam. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam energy, Vietnam power plants, Vietnam thermal power project