Thailand's EGATi abandons $2.3 bln thermal power project in central Vietnam

Thailand's Ministry of Energy confirmed Thursday that state utility EGATi will abandon its $2.3 billion BOT coal-fired power project in Quang Tri province.

At a Vietnam-Thailand energy forum in Bangkok, the ministry said that an official announcement about the withdrawal will be sent to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade and Quang Tri authorities soon.

The decision has factored in Quang Tri authorities' recommendations, difficulties in capital arrangement and the two governments' commitments on net-zero emissions by 2050, the Thai ministry said.

EGAT International (EGATi) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a state-owned enterprise under supervision of the kingdom’s ministries of energy and finance.

Construction of technical infrastructure for the project began in November 2019, six years after the Vietnamese Prime Minister approved EGATi as investor.

The 1,320MW plant, located in the Southeast Economic Zone, was designed with two 660MW turbines.

The Thai ministry asked Vietnam's industry ministry and Quang Tri authorities to create favorable conditions for EGAT and EGATi to find other energy projects or projects involving infrastructure in support thereof.

Nguyen Duc Tan, director of Quang Tri's tourism, trade and investment promotion center, told The Investor that the thermal power plant was part of the province’s energy development plan and considered a key project in efforts to turn it into an energy hub in the central region by 2030.

"Therefore, after the project is closed, we will research and select another. It's likely that we will consider a more suitable fuel than coal for the power plant," Tan added.

Vietnam's industry ministry recently proposed that the government includes five coal-fired thermal power projects in the national power development plan VIII for the 2021-2030 period with vision until 2050.

The ministry said the five projects, which already received in-principle agreement from Vietnamese authorities, should be included to help the government avoid legal disputes with the investors as also paying compensation.

It noted that none of the investors showed willingness to have their projects scrapped despite capital arrangement difficulties.