Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has signed capital contribution contracts and credit agreements worth 4.5 trillion VND (225 billion USD) with several banks for the expanded Duyen Hai 3 thermo-power project.

The banks include the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), Vietnam Bank for Foreign Trade (Vietcombank) and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

Addressing the signing ceremony in Hanoi on April 20, Chairman of the EVN Member Board Duong Quang Thanh said the capital will help ensure project progress, which is critical to ease power shortages in the southern region.

Meanwhile, the project is expected to boost socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta region by resolving electricity shortages during the dry season, he added.

Vietinbank General Director Le Duc Tho said the EVN continually receives assistance from large commercial banks that are responsible for working with economic groups and enterprises to forge rapid and sustainable growth.

According to the EVN, the capital will be used to pay for EPC (engineering-procurement-construction) contracts for the expanded Duyen Hai 3 project.

Total investment for the project is 22.77 trillion VND (roughly 1.82 billion USD), 85 percent of which are from commercial loans. The project, approved by the Prime Minister on December 11, 2013, is crucial in supplying power for the southern region by 2018.

Located in Duyen Hai district in Tra Vinh province, Duyen Hai 3 is one of four thermo-power projects run by the Duyen Hai Power Centre with a total capacity of 4,348 megawatts. It is expected to generate 3.9 billion kilowatt hours per year.-VNA