Waste-to-power plant to take shape in Quang Ninh

The Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and Quang Ninh province have initiated a project generating electricity from waste.

The project is conducted by a joint venture between Viet Long Investment and Construction JSC - a local firm in the northern province; Chodai Co. Ltd. - a leading construction consultant in Japan; and Maeda Corporation, a Japanese construction company.

The plant in Uong Bi town of Quang Ninh, home to UNESCO natural heritage site Ha Long Bay, will process domestic, industrial, and medical waste to produce energy. The project parties did not release details about its timeline, capacity, and investment capital.

This is among 14 outbound investment projects receiving the Japanese government's funds for high-quality overseas energy facilities in the fiscal year of 2022. According to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the targets are to conduct a feasibility study and make the project a business.

Currently, Viet Long operates the Khe Giang waste processing factory in Uong Bi town with a maximum daily capacity of 600 tons, with generated ash made into bricks.

Japanese firms are expected to add technology to the facility, in order to utilize heat from burning the waste to produce power. Similar technology has been applied in Thailand.

Official data shows that Quang Ninh accumulates 1,250 tons of solid domestic waste per day, or 455,300 tons a year.

About 70% or 787 tons are treated by burying, 26% are burned, and the rest are recycled. The amount of hazardous waste reached 8,567 tons in 2021, including nearly 3,000 tons of medical waste.

In August, Harvest Waste B.V., a Dutch waste management company, received permission to carry out initial studies for a waste-to-energy project in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang.

The southern province currently has only one operational solid waste treatment plant. This buries waste for a composting process that turns out compost.

Late last month, the capital city of Hanoi put into operation a 75-megawatt waste-to-power plant. This is also the largest waste incineration plant in Vietnam with a capacity of handling 4,000 tons of dry waste a day, equivalent to nearly 5,500 tons of wet waste.

Of the 75 MW generated, the plant will use 15-20%, while the remainder is sold to state-run utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) under a signed agreement.