Yet another deferment for long-delayed $3 bln southern Vietnam coal-fired power plant

Malaysia-invested $3 billion coal-fired Song Hau 2 thermal power plant in the Mekong Delta’s Hau Giang province has had its opening deferred yet again.

Song Hau 2 Power Company Limited, investor of the long-delayed thermal power plant, has extended the issuance of a Note to Proceed (NTP) for the project to December 31 or earlier.

Malaysia-based Toyo Ink Group Berhad, parent company of Song Hau 2 Power Company Limited, filed notice of the delay with the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange Monday.

The delay in opening has been agreed upon by the investor and two project contractors – Malaysia’s Sunway Construction Sdn. Bhd. and Vietnam’s Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 2, it said.

Hau Giang province and Toyo Ink Behard signed an agreement to build the 2,120 MW project under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) format in December 2015.

The project missed its initial completion deadline of Q2/2022, partly due to the investor’s inability to meet its capital obligations.

Last month, the investor secured a $980 million loan from Eximbank Malaysia to develop the project. The financing will be used for the design, equipment purchase, construction and operation of the long-delayed thermal power plant located in Hau Giang's Chau Thanh district.

In a statement sent to the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) regarding concerns about the negative impacts of coal-fired power, Eximbank Malaysia said the plant would utilize “ultra-supercritical” (USC) technology.

USC technology is at the forefront of energy transition, meeting Vietnam’s energy transition plan to phase out “less efficient” traditional coal plants, it said.