Petrovietnam on track to restart $1.5 bln thermal power plant project in southern Vietnam

State-owned energy giant Petrovietnam is on track to resume the Long Phu 1 thermal power project, located in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, after six years of suspension.

Since April 18, Petrovietnam Technical Service Corporation (PTSC) and the Long Phu 1 management board have begun preparing to install the plant’s boiler system, one of the most critical components for the overall progress of the $1.5 billion coal-fired power project.

Under Vietnam’s National Power Development Plan VIII for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, Long Phu 1 is one of the few remaining coal-fired power projects categorized as “needing urgent completion.”

The PDP VIII permits only the continuation of coal-fired projects already approved or under construction by 2030. The total installed capacity from operational or underconstruction coal plant projects is expected to reach approximately 31,055 MW by 2030.

Petrovietnam aims to complete the Long Phu 1 project in 2027. The revival of the project will contribute to strengthening national energy security and supporting economic development in the Mekong Delta region, it said.

Petrovietnam was assigned as investor of the Long Phu 1 project in 2010. In 2014, the state giant signed deals to assign Russia’s Power Machine and its technical arm Petrovietnam Technical Service Corporation (PTSC) as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors.

In January 2018, when the project reached 78% completion, the United States had issued sanctions against Russia due to the Crimea issues, leading to challenges in project implementation. In March 2019, Power Machine stopped construction activities at the project site.

Long Phu 1 is one of five coal-fired power plants under construction in Vietnam, the ministry noted. The others are the 1,330 MW Vung Ang II, 110 MW Na Duong II, 1,403 MW Quang Trach I, and 650 MW An Khanh-Bac Giang.