Ca Na LNG-fueled power project in central Vietnam extends bidding deadline

The bidding deadline for the Ca Na LNG-to-power project in south-central Vietnam's Khanh Hoa province has been extended to 2 p.m. on July 19, 2025.

The extension moved the deadline from the original June 30 announced in the May 12 bidding notice. This marks the fifth bidding invitation issued for the project.

It came after the Ninh Thuan provincial People’s Committee (now Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee) approved revisions to the bidding documents on June 21.

The revisions were made based on a May proposal from state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) regarding the drafting of a power purchase agreement to serve the investor selection process for the Ca Na LNG power project.

The revised bidding documents also include adjustments to the project’s total investment and power generation price cap as outlined in the pre-feasibility study, leading to changes in technical specifications and evaluation criteria.

These revisions were intended to align with a decision issued on May 13, 2025 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which approved the 2025 electricity price framework for LNG-fueled combined-cycle gas turbine power plants.

The bidding documents also revise several templates and related content to ensure consistency and alignment across evaluation criteria.

In addition, adjustments were made to the power transmission plan to comply with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s decision dated April 15, 2025, approving updates to the national power development plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

Following the revisions, the estimated total investment for the Ca Na LNG power plant project was raised to VND57.39 trillion ($2.19 billion) from VND56.01 trillion previously.

As a result, the bid security amount was also adjusted to VND573.9 billion ($21.89 million) from VND560.06 billion in the earlier bidding notice. The bidding authority remains the Department of Industry and Trade of Ninh Thuan province, now Khanh Hoa.

According to the May 12 bidding notice, to participate in the bidding, investors must have a letter of guarantee from a credit institution or a branch of a foreign bank established under the Vietnamese law, with a bid security amount of VND560.06 billion ($21.62 million).

Ninh Thuan has been merged with Khanh Hoa to establish Khanh Hoa province, following a resolution adopted by the National Assembly, Vietnam’s legislature, on June 12.

On Monday, provinces and cities across Vietnam simultaneously held ceremonies to announce decisions on the merger and reorganization of administrative units, as part of a nationwide effort to streamline governance structures.

Vietnam will guarantee an offtake of at least 65% of annual electricity output from projects using imported LNG power for up to 10 years, under a newly-issued government decree.

The country currently has only one operational LNG-fired power project - the Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The Nhon Trach 4 power plant, one of two units in Vietnam’s first LNG-fueled power complex, officially connected to the national grid on June 28 with an initial capacity of 50 MW.

This marks the first time Nhon Trach 4, invested by PV Power, has delivered electricity to the grid, a key milestone ahead of full commercial operation.

Nhon Trach 3, the sister plant, connected to the grid in February and is currently undergoing trial operations.