Sausage mogul eyes $5 bln green energy, cattle project in northern Vietnam

Mai Huy Tan, who founded and later sold the popular Duc Viet sausage brand, has proposed a $5 billion circular economy complex in Quang Ninh province, northern Vietnam.

Tan’s company, THDV Green Development Investment Consulting JSC (THDV), pitched the idea for its GH2 green circular economy complex at a meeting with local authorities on Tuesday.

The project, planned for the Hai Ha Industrial Park, features biomass and renewable power generation facilities, leveraging these energy sources alongside water electrolysis technology to produce green hydrogen and oxygen.

It will also supply biomass feedstock for power production within the GH2 (green hydrogen) complex and an Angus cattle farming operation.

THDV outlined three major components – a 713-hectare GH2 green energy hub, a 65 ha Angus cattle farming center, and a roughly 70,000 ha agricultural and forestry raw material cultivation area.

The GH2 energy hub would include five GH2 modules and 24 local manufacturing plants. Meanwhile, the cattle farming center would feature a farm system, a biomass pre-processing plant, a cattle feed processing facility, and an organic fertilizer plant.

Waste from livestock operations is expected to be repurposed for power generation within the GH2 complex.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Duc An emphasized that green energy is a rising global trend aimed at conserving energy and protecting the environment.

He requested provincial departments and agencies to closely collaborate in appraising the proposed ideas.

THDV provides advisory services to help businesses adopt "breakthrough" green strategies and embrace circular economy practices in organic agriculture and renewable energy.

In 2000, Tan founded Duc Viet Production and Trading Co., Ltd., best known for its Duc Viet sausage brand. In 2016, the company was acquired by South Korean food company Daesang Corp for VND710 billion (approximately $27.16 million). He then launched a new venture in 2020 by founding THDV.

In the first half of the year, registered FDI capital in Quang Ninh province totaled over $292 million, down 81.2% year-on-year. Of this, $173.64 million came from newly licensed projects and $116.47 million was capital expansion of 10 existing projects, according to official local data.