Korea’s SK Group to survey central Vietnam for gas-fired power plant

South Korea’s chaebol SK Group aims to survey Nam Van Phong, an economic hub within Vietnam’s central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, to build a gas-fired power plant.

A delegation of SK Group, including executives from its subsidiary SK Gas, made the statement at a Tuesday meeting in Ulsan city (South Korea) with Khanh Hoa authorities. The meeting focused on inviting SK Group to invest in Khanh Hoa's Van Phong Economic Zone, especially in energy, oil refinery, and petrochemicals.

SK Group highlighted its strengths, including the under-construction Ulsan GPS power plant in the namesake city, with a capacity of 1,200 MW. This is the world’s first LNG/LPG combined cycle power plant, utilizing both LNG and LPG as fuels. SK Telecom delegation emphasized the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure the factory's stable and efficient supply and automated cooling system.

Welcoming the initiative, Khanh Hoa Chairman Nguyen Tan Tuan urged SK Group to soon make a detailed proposal for the investment.

On the same day, the Khanh Hoa delegation had a working session with Korea Energy Terminal, a project in Ulsan with SK Gas as co-participant. Tuan highlighted Khanh Hoa’s advantages for investments in LNG terminals, such as Nam Van Phong area’s 22-27 meters water depth capable of accommodating LNG tankers.

Per Vietnam’s power development plan VIII (PDP VIII) for 2030, the country aims to develop gas-fired power of 14,930 MW and LNG-fired power of 22,400 MW, or 9.9% and 14.9% of the total power mix, respectively. Towards 2050, some gas-fired power plants can use LNG or hydrogen as fuels.

Khanh Hoa does not feature any LNG-fired power projects in PDP VIII. A major project of the province featured in PDP VIII is the Van Phong 1 coal-fired power plant.