Central Vietnam province opens bids for $2.45 bln LNG-to-power project

Bidding documents for the $2.45 billion, 1,500 MW Nghi Son LNG-to-power project using combined cycle gas turbine technology (CCGT) have been released by Thanh Hoa province in central Vietnam.

The management board of the Nghi Son Economic Zone and Industrial Parks has sent the bidding documents to five bidders: a joint venture between Japan’s Jera and Vietnamese local firm Sovico; a joint venture between Korean companies KOSPO, KOGAS, Daewoo E&C, and Vietnamese firm Anh Phat Investment Construction - Trading JSC; Thailand’s Gulf Energy; South Korea’s SK E&S; and a joint venture between PV Power and Hanoi-based T&T Group.

The project will also feature an LNG jetty, a 230,000 cubic meters LNG storage facility, an onshore regasification station of 1.2 million tons a year, a gas pipeline system connecting a regasification station with the LNG-fired power plant for 1.2 million tons a year; a 500kV power transmission line and other technical infrastructure.

Located to the south of Nghi Son port of Thanh Hoa province, the project will cover 68.2 hectares, including 64.2 hectares for the power plant, warehouse, regasification system, wharf; and four hectares for ship anchoring zone. It is set to become operational by 2030.

The bidding documents stipulate electricity prices will be determined in line with the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Circular 07/2024. A notable factor in the process is the LNG price at about $12.98 per million BTU with the exchange rate of VND24,250 per $1 as a fixed input. Another factor is the financial internal rate of return (IRR) not exceeding 12%.

The deadline for submitting bids is September 30.

Vietnam is yet to have any power plant that exclusively uses LNG as fuel. Some gas-fired power plants like Phu My 3, Phu My 2.1 and Phu My 4 have switched to use LNG as fuel from April onwards.

In July, PV Power, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrovietnam, announced that The $1.4-billion Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 LNG-to-power complex, the first of its kind in Vietnam, has basically completed related land lease tasks and is preparing to “first fire” one of the plants this September.