Mega power projects in Mekong Delta surpass deadlines

The Mekong Delta hosts many mega power projects as part of a government bid to ensure national security, but all fall short of schedule.

In early 2011, state-owned PetroVietnam kicked off construction of the Long Phu 1 thermal power plant in Long Phu district, Soc Trang province. The 1,200-megawatt project is part of the Long Phu power center, which also features 1,200MW Long Phu 2 and 2,000MW Long Phu 3, approved by the Prime Minister under the national power development plan VI.

As scheduled, Long Phu 1 was set to run its first turbine in 2014 and become fully operational in 2015. However, to date, the plant has yet to run any turbines as Russia’s Power Machines, the EPC contractor, is subject to sanctions by the U.S. administration, with construction suspended for months.

In early 2021, Can Tho province licensed Japan’s Marubeni to invest in the O Mon II thermal power plant, with a registered investment exceeding $1.3 billion and a designed capacity of 1,050 MW. It is part of the O Mon power center and the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) project in the Mekong Delta city, accounting for 65% of its FDI.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the fulfilment of investment procedures, said Truong Quoc Trang, vice head of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment. The investor is striving to complete procedures to kick off construction in 2023, Trang added.

As a result of the slow progress, O Mon II is likely to miss its deadline of beginning commercial operation in 2024-2025, in line with the progress of Bloc B gas-power projects.

Also in 2021, Long An province granted an investment certificate to VinaCapital GS Energy Pte. Ltd to build the Long An I and Long An II LNG-fired power plants in Dong Nam A Industrial Park, Long An International Port, with a total capacity of 3,000 MW.

The investor vowed to begin commercial operation of both plants in December 2025 and December 2026. However, no projects have completed investment procedures yet.

Similarly, the LNG-to-power Bac Lieu plant acquired an investment certificate in 2020. The investor had committed to start building the 3,200-MW facility in the second quarter of this year and then operate its first turbine in 2024. Nevertheless, no construction has begun due to investment procedure entanglements.

The total output of all the above-mentioned plants could reach 40 billion kWh a year and the delays in those projects would significantly impact national energy security in the coming time.

The LNG-to-power Long An and Bac Lieu plants were converted from coal-fired to LNG-fired. Omon II, Long Phu, Long An, Bac Lieu are large-scale projects and were part of amended national power development plan VII (amended PDP VII) for the 2011-2020 period, with vision until 2030 and draft PDP VIII for the 2021-2030 period, with vision until 2045.

Vietnam should reduce thermal power production by 14,120 MW and boost renewable energy and LNG-fired power to achieve its zero emissions target, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed. In its latest report on the PDP VIII, the ministry proposes that coal-fired power be reduced to 37,467 MW, or 25-31% of total capacity by 2030, and about 10% by 2045.