To date, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has ratified 7 power centers, including Mong Duong, Nghi Son, Vinh Tan, O Mon, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Thai Binh. Among those, Son My power center (Binh Thuan) consists of two projects with the total capacity of 2,400 MW. Thai Binh power center also has two projects with the entire capacity of 1,800 MW (Thai Binh No.1 project which has the capacity of 600 MW will substitute Ninh Binh thermal power No.2 project). O Mon power center has 4 thermopower plants with the total capacity of about 2,800 MW. Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is ratifying the project on Kien Luong Thermal Power Center project in Kien Giang province with the area of 600 ha and the total investment of USD 6.7 billion. This center comprises of 3 plants with the entire capacity of 4,400 MW. This is the largest thermopower project in Vietnam which has allowed private enterprises to invest in. As estimated, the project will be activated in 2009, the first period will be completed in 2013 and the whole project will be put into operation in 2018.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is guiding EVN and consulting units to establish the plan for some new power centers in Phu Tho, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen and Son My (Binh Thuan) to submit to the Prime Minister and add to Master Plan VI. These plans will be respectively finished from now to the end of the year.
The majority of new power generation projects in the Master Plan VI will be coal-fired thermopower centers. As calculated, the total amount of coal needs to be imported to 2015 will be 39 million tons and to 2016 will be 55 million tons. At present, the planning of coal-fired power centers is mainly implemented in the North and the Central. In the South, the investment in power centers which consumes coal will face difficulties in transportation because it depends on the Northern coal resource or imported coal. EVN is planning to use domestic coal for thermopower plants from Vung Ang 2 to the North and imported coal for those from Vung Ang 3 to the South. Nevertheless, while the coal reserves are exhausting, the importation is encountering numerous obstacles due to the fluctuation of coal price. Therefore, importers cannot sign long-term contracts, which is an important condition to ensure the stable operation of the plants. Moreover, the construction of harbors for coal importation is also bumping into difficulties since the places that are advantageous for the construction of power centers are disadvantageous for the construction of harbors on the contrary.
Theo: Industry and Trade Press