Thailand’s largest solar energy company, Superblock Pcl, plans to invest 56 billion baht ($1.76 billion) to install 700 megawatts (MW) of wind farms in Vietnam, the company’s Chairman Jormsup Lochaya told Reuters on Friday. The first phase of the investment will cost 20.7 billion baht and consist of three near-shore farms with 142 MW of capacity in Bac Lieu Province, 98 MW in Soc Trang Province and 100 MW in Ca Mau Province, all in southern Vietnam, said Jormsup. Construction has already begun and Jormsup expects the sites to be operating by 2020. The second phase of 360 MW of capacity will also be built in those three provinces and construction will begin when the first phase concludes, he said. Vietnam’s young population, growing economy and industries will increase power consumption in the country by 10 percent annually, making it an important market, Jormsup said. Vietnam wants to meet that demand with less air pollution, he said, citing Thailand’s own problems with pollution. “This week Bangkok had an air pollution problem,” Jormsup said, referring to a spike in pollutants in the city. “Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi have similar problems and the Vietnamese want clean and cheap energy – this is driving renewable energy growth,” he said, adding that costs are much lower and that Vietnamese government policy on renewables is clear. Vietnam currently has wind power capacity of 140 MW, with a goal to reach 6,000 MW by 2030, according to government data. Financing for the Vietnam projects will… [Read full story]
Survey: Many Japan firms plan expansion in Vietnam Quoc Hung Takimoto Koji, chief representative of JETRO in HCMC, talks about results of the organization’s new survey at a meeting with reporters in the city on February 14 - PHOTO: QUOC HUNG HCMC - Most Japanese enterprises have strong interest in the services and consumer goods sectors in Vietnam, and some two-thirds of Japanese firms active in the country plan to expand operations, showed a recent survey of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). JETRO yesterday announced findings from a survey among 10,983 Japanese companies in 20 markets in the Asia…... [read more]
Russian energy company Arman Holding is working with the sole power provider in Vietnam EVN on a solar plant worth US$140 million. A source from Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam said the Russian firm, the main investor of the project, is surveying for a location with its partners – Singapore’s finance company Royale Star Holdings and Vietnam’s Natural Energy Investment & Development JSC. The 100-megawatt plant is expected to be the first solar power project in Vietnam connected to the national grid network. The partners are discussing with EVN, fully known as Electricity of Vietnam, about market prices. Further…... [read more]
Siam Cement, Thailand's top industrial conglomerate, plans to invest $3.7 billion in a major petrochemical complex in southern Vietnam, local media reported Monday. The complex is to be built in Long Son in the oil hub province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, adjacent to the site of Vietnam's third, and possibly its biggest oil refinery, the Vietnam Investment Review weekly quoted SCC Chief Executive Kan Trakulhoon as saying. Trakulhoon who presented the project to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last week said it had received support from the Vietnamese government. If approved, the project would be completed by 2013, he said.…... [read more]
Top Thai energy firm PTT Pcl said it would make a proposal to the Vietnamese government to build a $20 billion refinery and petrochemical complex, revised down from an earlier project discussed two years ago. >> Vietnam pins hopes on multibillion-dollar oil projects with foreign partners State-controlled PTT will meet with Vietnam's prime minister this month to present its project proposal, PTT Chief Executive Pailin Chuchottaworn told reporters on Monday. The complex has been designed to help meet Vietnam's domestic demand for oil products and boost its exports. PTT has studied the possibilities of investing in central Vietnam for over…... [read more]
Malaysia's Toyo Ink Group plans to invest US$1 billion in southern Vietnam to build a 1,000 megawatt thermal power plant. It inked a land lease agreement Monday with Becamex IDC Corp., the developer of My Phuoc Industrial Park 4 in the Binh Duong province, for the plant. Toyo will lease around 50 ha in the park to build the gas or oil fired plant using advanced technologies. The plant will take 24 to 30 months to build once the license is received and its output will be sold to the state-run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). The local administration has promised…... [read more]
