PM Dung kick-starts major power project

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pressed the button for the construction of a 600 MW thermal-power plant in the central province of Thanh Hoa on July 3.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pressed the button for the constructionof a 600 MW thermal-power plant in the central province of ThanhHoa on July 3.

The Nghi Son 1 project with aninvestment of 22.26 trillion VND (roughly 1.15 billion USD) will have 85percent of the cost coming from Japanese official developmentassistance and the rest contributed by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

Once fully put into operation scheduled for 2014,the two-turbine power plant will generate 3.6 billion kWh annually.

Its first turbine is due to become commissioned in thefourth quarter of 2013 and the second in the second quarter of 2014.

Addressing the ground-breaking ceremony in the presence ofJapanese Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba, PM Dung said following this projectwill be the construction of the Nghi Son 2 thermal-power plant with acapacity doubling to 1,200 MW.

The two projectswould play an important role in meeting demand for electricity by theNghi Son Economic Zone, especially in service of oil refinery andproduction of cement and steel, he said.

They wouldcontribute to the economic development in Thanh Hoa province and thenorthern central region as a whole, the Government leader emphasised.

He expressed gratitude to Japan for its officialdevelopment assistance over the past years which, he said, haspractically contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development andis anticipated to continue in the future.

Dung alsopaid an inspection to the construction sites of the Nghi Son oilrefinery and the Nghi Son seaport.

Later in the day,the Government leader held a working session with authorities of ThanhHoa province, focusing on local socio-economic development and solutionsto outstanding problems.

He recognised the oncepoverty-stricken province’s comprehensive achievements over the pastyears to record a GDP growth rate of 12.3 percent in the first half ofthe year, almost doubling the national average.

It’snoteworthy that the provincial industry has managed to grow by 18.9percent year on year and the poverty rate dropped 1.2 percent ascompared to the beginning of the year, Dung said with satisfaction.

He however pointed out problems that Thanh Hoa shouldaddress, citing high pollution in the coastal residential quarters andhigh poverty rates, especially a large gap between the rich and thepoor, and poor human resource development.

Hetherefore asked the province to better tap its advantages in abundantland and human resources in an effort to sustain steady development andmake a huge leap in five years to come.

In thisregard, the Government leader called on the Thanh Hoa administration toembark on making its five-year development master-plan in a way to putinto full use over 400,000 ha of forests and over 240,000 ha of arableland along with the development of processing industry.

He also suggested that the province work out measures to efficientlytap its mineral potential, develop its rich human resources and investin infrastructure and hospitality industry for sustainable developmentand poverty reduction.

He reminded Thanh Hoa offocusing efforts on poverty alleviation through employment promotion.

The Government leader pledged to support theprovince’s plan in building a hi-tech park and infrastructureinvestments in the Nghi Son economic zone./.

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