Vung Ang I thermal power plant to resume first turbine operation next week

The 1,200MW Vung Ang I thermal power plant in central Vietnam is ready to resume operation of its first turbine from next Wednesday, after a suspension was forced due to technical disruption starting September 2021.

In January 2022, the power factory, invested by PV Power Ha Tinh - a subsidiary of state-run Petrovietnam, signed with Toshiba Vietnam as the contractor to deliver materials and Indonesia’s PT.Sulzer as the contractor to make repairs.

The Indonesian firm started transporting equipment from the power factory in Ha Tinh province to Indonesia's Jakarta from April 5, 2022. Then on January 19, 2023, the firm returned the repaired equipment to the power plant.

The plant began trial run of its systems from February 5, including its diesel oil system, cooling system, and others.

With two coal warehouses of 180,000 tons, it has prepared material imports for operation, particularly the delivery of coal via the Lao-Viet international port in Ha Tinh's Vung Ang Economic Zone.

The 1,200-megawatt power plant, featuring two 600-MW turbines, had its first turbine enter commercial operation from December 31, 2014 and its second from May 12, 2015.

From January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2022, the facility's electricity generation reached 38.91 billion kWh, aiding the electricity demand in the northern region of Vietnam.

The Vung Ang II thermal power plant is set to begin commercial operation of its first turbine in July 2025 and then its second in November 2025, its investor said. Vung Ang II Thermal Power LLC made the statement at a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding with PV Power earlier this month on construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of Vung Ang I and Vung Ang II thermal power plants.

The 1,200-MW Vung Ang II thermal power plant has an investment of $2.2 billion per build-operate-transfer format.