Vinacomin, Vietnam’s top coal producer, has said that it plans to build two coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,600 MW. The cost of the new power plants is estimated by energy experts to be more than $3B.
According to Vinacomin deputy general director Nguyen Chien Thang, the Hai Phong 3 plant will have a capacity of 600 MW and will use coal from Vinacomin's mines in the northern coal hub province of Quang Ninh.
The second plant will have a capacity of 2,000 MW and will be built in the southcentral province of Binh Thuan. It will supply power to Vinacomin's bauxite processing complex there, Thang said.
According to government reports, coal consumption in Vietnam, mainly by power plants, steel and cement producers, is forecast to jump 20% to 24 mt next year from 20 mt in 2008.
Hanoi plans to cut coal exports, mainly to China and Japan, by 9% next year to 20 mt due to growing demand at home, the report says.
