Central Vietnam province to allocate 100 hectares for LNG terminal in $2.45 bln project

Thanh Hoa province in central Vietnam has approved the allocation of 100 hectares to the west of Me island, within the Nghi Son Economic Zone, for building an LNG terminal.

Provincial Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Thi gave the nod on Monday during an on-site inspection at the economic zone.

The land allocation will be subject to approval by the Ministry of Industry and Trade as part of a national crude oil reserve plan.

An advantage of the land lot to be allocated is its proximity to the Nghi Son deep-water port, which can accommodate LNG tankers of up to 200,000 DWT.

Thi also agreed with a suggestion that 140 hectares be allocated for crude oil storage in the province. This land lot would lie within the Nghi Son Economic Zone’s industrial park No.6. This allocation would also be subject to approval by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Thanh Hoa had released bidding documents in August for the $2.45 billion, 1,500 MW Nghi Son LNG-to-power project that would use combined cycle gas turbine technology (CCGT).

The project will also feature an LNG jetty, a 230,000 cubic meter 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.

The management board for 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.

Bids have to be submitted by the end of this month.