PM urges completion of central Vietnam thermal power plant 10 months early

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to switch on the Quang Trach 1 thermal power plant by end-August next year, 10 months ahead of schedule.

Chinh made the request during a field trip to the Quang Trach power center in the central province of Quang Binh on Sunday.

The early operation of the plant’s first turbine would be meaningful to celebrate the nation’s 80th anniversary of Independence Day, Chinh noted.

During the fact-finding trip, Chinh urged Quang Binh’s authorities to remove construction obstacles at the Quang Trach power center, including site clearance, resettlement, water cooling channels, and coal conveyor belts.

He asked for EVN to secure cheap coal supplies and consider importing coal from Laos.

The Quang Trach 1 thermal power project spans an area of 48.6 hectares in Quang Dong commune, Quang Trach district. It is designed to have two turbines with a total capacity of 1,200 MW and send 8.4 billion kWh to the national grid per year. It applies ultra-subcritical technology.

Construction kicked off in December 2021, and it is now 60.56% complete.

The project has an investment of VND41.13 trillion ($1.86 billion at the exchange rate at the time of planning), with EVN financing 30% and borrowing the rest from domestic banks.

In June 2021, EVN signed an EPC contract worth VND30,236 billion ($1.37 billion) with a consortium of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and Vietnam’s Construction Corporation No. 1.

The Quang Trach power center comprises the Quang Trach 1 thermal power plant, Quang Trach 2 LNG power plant, and other infrastructure.