Quang Ngai Sugar JSC expands power-sugar complex in central Vietnam

Gia Lai province's authorities have allowed Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company (UPCoM: QNS) to raise the capacity of its An Khe Biomass Power Plant project from 95 MW to 135 MW.

The An Khe Biomass Power Plant phase 1, located in Thanh An commune, An Khe town (now An Khe ward), has been in operation since 2018, with a total investment of over VND1,906 billion ($72.23 million).

The second phase will be deployed at the cost of VND846.7 billion ($32.09 million), raising the total investment to over VND2,753 billion ($104.34 million).

Phase 2 is expected to complete investment procedures in Q4/2025, start construction in Q1/2026, and commence production in Q4/2027.

Quang Ngai Sugar started its business in Gia Lai with a factory processing only 2,000 tons of sugarcane a day. After 25 years of operation, the company has built a large-scale biomass power and sugar making cluster.

The complex includes the An Khe Sugar Plant, the An Khe Biomass Power Plant, the An Khe Agricultural Machinery Company, and the Gia Lai Sugarcane Application and Research Center.

The An Khe Sugar Plant has a capacity of pressing 18,000 tons of sugarcane/day and a sugar refining capacity of 1,000 tons of sugar/day.

Its annual sugar output accounts for over 20% of the country's total. In the 2024-2025 season alone, the plant's output reached 243,000 tons.

Currently, Quang Ngai Sugar is focusing on implementing three projects with a total investment of over VND3,700 billion ($140.23 million), including expanding the capacity of An Khe Sugar Plant to 25,000 tons of sugarcane/day (over VND1,169 billion), expanding the capacity of the An Khe Biomass Power Plant (adding turbine No. 3 with a capacity of 40 MW), and investing in the An Khe Ethanol Plant (over VND1,741 billion).

Quang Ngai province-headquartered Quang Ngai Sugar is a multi-sector business companies involving agricultural processing, food, and beverages.

In H1/2025, the company recorded net revenue of more than VND5,509 billion ($208.79 million), down over 2.5% compared to the same period in 2024. Profit after tax was over VND1,159 billion ($43.93 million), an over 18% drop.

Quang Ngai Sugar stated that in H1, the complicated global political and economic context, slow recovery in the domestic purchasing power, increased input costs, and exchange rate fluctuations put pressure on its business activities.

New tax policies and increased market control, especially on the origin of goods and trade fraud, also affected market sentiment and business results of enterprises.

As of June 30, 2025, the firm's total assets had exceeded VND15,570 billion ($590 million), an increase of nearly VND1,000 billion compared to the beginning of the year.

Of this, short-term assets accounted for the majority with more than VND11,325 billion, an increase of over VND1,300 billion against the beginning of the year.

In 2025, Quang Ngai Sugar plans to achieve total revenue of VND10,000 billion ($378.97 million) and after-tax profit of VND1,790 billion ($67.84 million). That means in the first half of the year, the enterprise had achieved 64.7% of the year's profit plan.

Gia Lai is now home to two operational biomass power projects with a total capacity of more than 130 MW, namely the Ayun Pa Biomass Power Plant and the An Khe Biomass Power Plant. These two plants utilize bagasse by-products from sugar factories in the area.

According to the National Power Development Plan for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 (Adjusted Power Plan VIII), Gia Lai is expected to have four biomass power projects with a total capacity of 168 MW.

Binh Dinh and Gia Lai provinces were recently merged to form the new Gia Lai province which borders Dak Lak, Quang Ngai, Cambodia, and the East Sea.