Apr 10, 2006 -- BBC Monitoring

 

Construction of the country's largest-ever gas-fuelled electric plant in the southernmost province of Ca Mau began on 9 April. It is scheduled to supply 10bn kWh annually, or 18 per cent of the country's power output by 2008.

The Ca Mau gas-power-fertilizer complex, which will fire natural gas to generate power, will have a combined capacity of 1,500 MW, according to PetroVietnam, sole investor of the project. Gas for the complex will be sourced from Bunga Kekwa (Block PM3) offshore gas field, about 600 km south of Ho Chi Minh City, via a 325 km heavy-duty pipeline. "This is a significant project as it will help Vietnam overcome power shortages, and also accelerate its ongoing industrialisation and modernization process," said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the groundbreaking ceremony. He said the project will help Vietnam reach its power generating target in 2010, when the total power output is proposed to double the current total output of 55bn kWh. He asked investors, project partners, constructors, workers and technicians to work hard to complete the plant on schedule. The plant, with two turbines, will be built by the country's largest machinery installer, the Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama). The corporation is the key contractor for designing and installing the specialized machinery, and conducting trial runs upon completion of the project. Sub-contractor Siemens AG (Germany) will supply the main equipment for the power plant, valued at about 210m US dollars. According to the Ministry of Industry, Vietnam's demand for electricity is expected to grow 15 per cent annually till 2010. The country is purchasing power from China to prevent shortages in the north, and plans to purchase power from Laos in 2008.

Source: Voice of Vietnam text website, Hanoi, in English 10 Apr 06

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