Delays in Nhon Trach power plants cause VND13 billion damage daily

On May 9, the State Steering Committee for Important National and Key Energy Projects led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien worked at the construction site of Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants in Nhon Trach district of the southern province of Dong Nai. These two projects have a total capital of $1.4 billion and a total capacity of 1,624 MW.

If everything proceeds according to the plan, Nhon Trach 3 will be finished and will be able to generate commercial power in November 2004, whilst Nhon Trach 4 will follow suit in May 2025.

However, as of April, the workload is only 85 per cent complete. This means that the construction process of Nhon Trach 3 is delayed for six months compared to the deadline due to barriers in land clearance. Meanwhile, the delay of Nhon Trach 3 will lead to delays in the Nhon Trach 4 deadline.

The investor reported to the State Steering Committee that the total area having clear ground relating to the land of Ong Keo Industrial Park was 30.7 hectares, and there are barriers relating to land hiring fees.

Project Management Board leaders have said that one issue that has to be settled promptly is the power purchase agreements (PPA) contract between Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and PV Power.

The next steps are committing to a long-term power purchase and figuring out the pricing range for liquefied natural gas power generation. These represent the most crucial elements required for the projects to be implemented successfully.

Another noteworthy problem is the disagreement between the Project Management Board and the land leasing entity, Tin Nghia Group.

Before the Lunar New Year, PV Power issued a document stamped as urgent and sent it to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and relevant authorities, stating that Tin Nghia Group, the organisation in charge of overseeing Ong Keo Industrial Park, had obstructed the construction of the cooling water discharge channel at the park's intersection with Road No. 4.

PV Power submitted the proposals to look for solutions for these two projects. The investor estimates that a delay in the construction of these two projects will cause damage to over $541,000 per day for parties, including Dong Nai People’s Committee.

“These two projects are national key projects, which play a crucial role in ensuring energy security for the country. Thus, the province and the investor need closer collaboration to resolve the pending issues and to accelerate the projects,” said Minister Dien.

PetroVietnam has taken over the O Mon III and IV gas-fired power plants after a recent decision promulgated by Can Tho People’s Committee.

Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Finance Julapun Amornvivat on October 19 announced that the scheme to give 10,000 THB (274 USD) in handouts via digital wallets to more than 50 million people in the country will not be started on February 1, 2024 as planned.

The Thai Government announced on December 25 that four major Japanese automakers will invest 150 billion THB (4.34 billion USD) in Thailand over the next five years.

A joint venture between China’s Huadian Group and Vietnam’s Minh Quang Technology has proposed the development of a hydrogen production plant in combination with a 1,200 MW wind farm and an 800 MW solar farm in the central province of Quang Tri, with a total investment of nearly $2.4 billion.

PetroVietnam Power (PV Power) has signed a short-term loan agreement worth $300 million with Citibank and ING to supplement capital for the Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 power plants, which are the first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power plants in Vietnam.