Kien Luong power station

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Kiên Lương power station was a proposed 4,400-megawatt (MW) coal power plant complex in Kiên Giang province, Vietnam.

Location

The map below shows the location where the plant would be built in Kiên Lương town, Kiên Lương district, Kiên Giang province.

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Background

In August 2008, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade applied for government approval for a three-phase, 4,400-5,200 MW power plant complex in Kiên Giang province. At the time, the proposal had the Tan Tao Investment and Industry Corporation (ITACO) (a subsidiary of the Tan Tao Group), Japan's Toyo Ink Group, and the state-owned oil monopoly PetroVietnam collaborating on the project.[1]

In June 2010, Tan Tao announced that it had signed a construction contract with China Huadian Corporation to build the $2 billion, 1,200-MW Kiên Lương-1 power station, the first phase of the project. At the time, Tan Tao stated that the Kiên Lương-1 plant's first unit would come online in 2013, and the second in 2014. This plant would be followed by the 1,200-MW Kiên Lương-2 and the 2,000-MW Kiên Lương-3.[2] The project would cost a total of $6.7 billion — including the proposed $800-million Nam Du Deep Sea Port on An Son Island, which would be capable of handling the 50 million tons per year of coal necessary for the power plants.[3]

However, Tan Tao Group has had significant problems lining up adequate investment for the project, as well as failing to negotiate power-purchase contracts with Electricity of Vietnam. ITACO filled 88ha of the site, built an 8km embankment and paid compensation to families who were forced to relocate before suspending construction work in August 2010.[4]

In May 2013, Kiên Giang provincial authorities began working with British company Graham Bell & Associates to find new investors for the project. In October, Tan Tao received permission from the Vietnamese government to shift from a build-own-operate model to a build-operate-transfer project, which would supposedly help the company gain government guarantees and line up financing. The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that the company "does not have enough ability and has not yet implemented the project on time, despite the deadline being extended many times." The provincial Vice Chairman warned that if Tan Tao failed the change the project's model by the end of the year, the provincial ministry would consider choosing other investors.[3][4][5]

In November 2013, Kiên Giang provincial authorities stated that they had placed the project on an "investment blacklist," indicating that its investment certificate should be revoked. Provincial authorities stated that the province wished to pursue the project, but using foreign investment instead.[5] In March 2014, Tan Tao was allowed to convert the proposal from a build-own-operate to a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project, allowing the firm to bring foreign partners into the project. Tan Tao stated that France's EDF and Korea's Samsung Group and Hyundai Group have expressed interest in the project.[6] As of October 2014, the firm stated that it was still negotiating with potential foreign partners.[7]

In March 2015, provincial officials announced a possible plan to run Kiên Lương-2 (or possibly all of Kiên Lương?) on natural gas instead of coal.[8] However, further news on this conversion to gas was not available.

In December 2015, the Kiên Lương-1 project was "restarted" yet again, with Tan Tao signing a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Industry & Trade. The plan at the time was for Unit 1 of Kiên Lương-1 to go online in 2024, and Unit 2 in 2025.[9] By May 2016, Tan Tao had completed compensation for relocating people living on the site of all three phases, and had received a certificate for land use rights. As of June 2016, while no Vietnamese companies were interested in working with Tan Tao on the proposal, both Sinohydro and the Qatar National Bank had expressed interest in working with Tan Tao on Kiên Lương-1.[10][11]

In October 2016, even after repeated additional ultimatums from government officials, the project was still stalled. Apparently, the problem was one of financing: Tan Tao had about $600 million in equity — but the project was slated to cost $7 billion. Tan Tao sought to be guaranteed by the government to borrow on international capital markets, but the Vietnamese government, facing rising public debt, was unwilling to do so.[12]

In April 2017, Vietnam's prime minister agreed with provincial officials' plan to revoke the investment certificate for Kiên Lương-1. They argued that the project's sponsors had taken too long, and pointed to the approval of two gas-fired power plants in Kiên Giang.[13] Press coverage noted that foreign investors may still be interested in the project, including corporations from Korea and France, who continue to be engaged in discussions; SinoHydro Corporation of China; and Qatar National Bank.[14]

Project Details

  • Sponsor: Tan Tao Energy Corporation
  • Parent company: Tan Tao Group
  • Location: Kiên Lương town, Kiên Lương district, Kiên Giang province, Vietnam
  • Coordinates: 10.23225, 104.59886 (exact)
  • Status: Cancelled
  • Gross Capacity: 4,400 MW (Kiên Lương-1: 1,200 MW; Kiên Lương-2: 1,200 MW; Kiên Lương-3: 2,000 MW)
  • Type: Supercritical
  • Projected in service: Kiên Lương-1: 2019[15]; Kiên Lương-2: 2023 and 2024; Kiên Lương-3: 2027 and 2028
  • Coal Type:
  • Coal Source: Australia, Russia, Indonesia
  • Source of financing: Standard Chartered Bank

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Malaysian, Vietnamese Firms to Build Vietnams Biggest Thermo-Power Center, Vietnam Business Forum, Aug. 19, 2008.
  2. ↑ EPC Contract Signed for Major Coal-Fired Power Plant, Saigon Times, July 2, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kien Giang Hot for Thermal Plant Progress, Viêt Nam News, May 20, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 ITACO to Change Kien Giang Thermal Power Project Model, Vietnam+, Nov. 27, 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Local Authorities, Government in Heated Dispute Over Thermal Power Project, Vietnam Investment Review, Nov. 20, 2013.
  6. ↑ Tan Tao Group seeks BOT power plant partners, Vietnam Investment Review, 25 Mar. 2014.
  7. ↑ Nhiệt điện Kiên Lương sắp “chung kết” đối tác ngoại, Báo Đầu tư, 3 Oct. 2014.
  8. ↑ Kiên Giang: Kiến nghị chuyển NM Nhiệt điện Kiên Lương, Bao Moi, 23 Mar. 2015.
  9. ↑ Nhà máy điện Kiên Lương 1 khởi động lại, Khinte Saigon, 11 Dec. 2015.
  10. ↑ Dự án Nhiệt điện Kiên Lương 1: Ngoại sốt sắng, nội thờ ơ, Bao Dautu, 7 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Công ty Trung Quốc muốn thực hiện Nhiệt điện Kiên Lương, ANTT.vn, 4 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Dự án tỷ USD dang dở của chị em bà Đặng Thị Hoàng Yến, Đặng Thành Tâm, Blue VN, 5 Oct. 2016.
  13. ↑ Kiến nghị thu hồi dự án Trung tâm Nhiệt điện Kiên Lương, Nang Luong Viet Nam, 19 Apr. 2017.
  14. ↑ "Kiến nghị thu hồi chủ trương đầu tư dự án Trung tâm nhiệt điện Kiên Lương của Tân Tạo," Cafef.vn, 4 April 2017
  15. ↑ Chuyển đổi hình thức đầu tư dự án nhiệt điện tỷ đô Kiên Lương, FICA, Jan. 13, 2014.

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External resources

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