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.

The Nghi Son 1 project with an investment of 22.26 trillion VND (roughly 1.15 billion USD) will have 85 percent of the cost coming from Japanese official development assistance 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 the fourth quarter of 2013 and the second in the second quarter of 2014.

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

The two projects would play an important role in meeting demand for electricity by the Nghi Son Economic Zone, especially in service of oil refinery and production of cement and steel, he said.

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

He expressed gratitude to Japan for its official development assistance over the past years which, he said, has practically contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development and is anticipated to continue in the future.

Dung also paid an inspection to the construction sites of the Nghi Son oil refinery and the Nghi Son seaport.

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

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

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

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

He therefore asked the province to better tap its advantages in abundant land and human resources in an effort to sustain steady development and make a huge leap in five years to come.

In this regard, the Government leader called on the Thanh Hoa administration to embark on making its five-year development master-plan in a way to put into full use over 400,000 ha of forests and over 240,000 ha of arable land along with the development of processing industry.

He also suggested that the province work out measures to efficiently tap its mineral potential, develop its rich human resources and invest in infrastructure and hospitality industry for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

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

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