~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam begins building final leg of power project

HANOI - Construction on the final addition to the Phu My power complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province began last Saturday. When construction is completed in 2005, the complex will provide about 47 percent of Vietnam's power. The project will raise the output of the Phu My complex to 3,800 megawatts, generating about 27 billion kilowatt hours annually.

"The add-on section is of significant importance because it will add 160 megawatts to the national grid. It will help save 7 million cubic meters of gas, worth [US]$20 million per year," said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the facility's ground-breaking ceremony, and asked the Ministry of Industry to make sure the complex received a sufficient supply of gas. The Alstom-Marubeni consortium will provide machinery and equipment for the project. Erection and Construction Co No 45-1, Vinaincon and Vietransi-mex will handle installation and construction.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will invest VND1.7 trillion (US$110 million) in the project, located in the Phu My Industrial Processing zone in Tan Thanh District. Dao Van Hung, general director of the EVN, said capital for the project came from domestic sources, including loans provided by local commercial banks.

Hung said Vietnam's fast growth rate was driving up demand for electricity. From 1995 to 2003, the demand for power increased by up to 16 percent annually. It jumped 20 percent in the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Tay Ninh and Ca Mau. He said the government decided to build the gas-turbine power plants in Ba Ria and Phu My after the National Assembly approved a gas-power-fertilizer program for the Phu My and Ba Ria areas.

"The thermo-power plants in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province have increased the capacity of the national grid, paved the way for growth in the country and helped develop Vietnam's gas industry," Hung said. Construction also began last weekend on the Buon Kuop project on the Srepok River in Dac Lac province.

The $307 million plant will have two turbines with a capacity of 280 megawatts. They will produce about 1.4 billion kilowatt hours annually once they begin to operate in 2009. Hung said domestic engineers would design and build the project.

Asia Times - December 25, 2003.