The national oil and gas group PetroVietnam on July 7 signed two sub-contracts under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth 1.2 billion USD to build the Quang Trach 1 thermo-power plant with two of its subsidiaries.

Nguyen Quoc Khanh, PetroVietnam's deputy general director, said PetroVietnam selected PetroVietnam Engineering Consultancy Co (PVE) to execute the designing contract, and chose PetroVietnam Construction Corp (PVX) to procure and install equipment by the Prime Minister's consent.

The Quang Trach 1 plant is the first large thermal power plant implementing the EPC contract. By allocating separate contract packages such as consultancy, procurement of equipment, construction and installation to Vietnamese enterprises, it aims to develop internal resources and improve competitiveness of domestic contractors.

To date, the project has completed the land acquisation and clearance and other works. It is slated to start construction on July 19.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, PVX's president Trinh Xuan Thanh said the Quang Trach thermal power plant was an urgent project under the national power development plan No 6.

Located in Quang Dong Commune, Quang Trach District, central Quang Binh Province , the plant will be built on an area of 199.3ha of land and 100ha on sea.

The 1,200MW plant consists of two units, using pulverised coal-fired technology with imported coal in order to ensure high efficiency and eco-friendliness.

The plant is projected to be operational by the end of 2015 and will supply the nation about 8.4 billion kWh per year. /.