A 750MW power plant project of O Mon Thermal Power Complex in Can Tho
City has the necessary remaining capital for its construction after
negotiations between Vietnam and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
According to an ADB press release on Nov. 24, a loan of 309.89 million
USD was approved for the combined cycle gas turbine O Mon Power Plant 4.
The plant, which is scheduled for completion by June
2016, is projected to cost 793.5 million USD. The other capital source
is a 370 million USD loan from Germany 's KfW Bankengruppe. The
remaining sum comes from state-owned Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and
the Vietnamese Government.
" Vietnam 's power consumption
has grown 15 percent a year over the past decade, and will continue to
rise at a double-digit pace for the foreseeable future," said Anthony
Jude, director of ADB's Energy Division for Southeast Asia . " Vietnam
desperately needs more electricity, and the additional power supply
will support economic and social development in the Mekong Delta."
The O Mon Power Plant 4 is hoped to provide a more reliable supply of
power to the Cuu Long ( Mekong ) Delta, support expanded industrial
activity, spur new livelihood opportunities, and reduce dependence on
hydroelectricity tapped from other regions. It is aligned with Vietnam
's power sector development plan, which aims to more than triple
energy capacity from 18,500MW in 2010 to 60,000MW by 2020.
The project will save approximately 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide
emissions a year compared to coal-based alternatives, possibly
qualifying the facility for carbon credits.
A second plant
at the complex is to be put on the market for private investors, while
the Government of Japan is funding two others in conjunction with EVN.
The O Mon Thermal Power Complex, which will have 3,600 MW of generating
capacity when complete, will also support the development of Vietnam
's offshore natural gas reserves. A consortium of foreign and local oil
companies will tap one block in the Gulf of Thailand to supply
the O Mon facility. The first turbine of the O Mon Power Plant 1 joined
the national grid in 2008. /.