Kien Luong Thermal Power Centre, owned by Tan Tao Group (ITACO), is the largest thermal power project authorised by the Prime Minister to a privately-owned company. Work is set to get under way on the Kien Luong Thermal Power Plant No 1 Viet Nam News reporter Thu Ngan talks with ITACO’s Chairwoman Dang Thi Hoang Yen about the plant.
Can you please tell us something about Kien Luong Thermal Power Plant No 1’s current status?
Kien Luong Thermal Power Plant No 1 is a part of the Kien Luong Thermal Power Centre and Nam Du deep-sea port complex in the southern province of Kien Giang, about 280km from HCM City.
Work will commence on the plant in the first quarter of this year and it will have a finished capacity of 1,200 MW.
The plant will be run with an electrostatic air cleaning system to ensure there is no environmental damage.
To date, all the land has been cleared away and we have already started to construct re-habitation areas including homes for experts and a living area for about 3,000 workers.
It is estimated that the plant will become operational in 2013.
How will you raise the capital for the project?
The total capital needed for Kien Luong Plant No.1 is about VND45.79 trillion (US$2.5 billion). Tan Tao Group is the main investor in the project. We will contribute 20 percent of the total capital for the project and the remainder will be mobilised from other sources.
So, raising capital will play an important part in the success of the project.
It all depends on construction contractors, contracts to purchase power and the Government’s willingness to guarantee loans.
Recently, we took out a loan with Standard Chartered Bank of $1.6-1.8 billion, guaranteed by the Vietnamese Government.
We selected Standard Chartered Bank because the bank has achieved many good results despite the world recession and has experience in the sector.
What will the plant be fuelled on? Will it affect the price of the power generated by the plant?
The plant will be fuelled on coal. It is estimated that it will consume 4 million tonnes of coal per year.
From 2013, all the coal that the plant consumes will be imported, this will be the first power project to use foreign coal.
We have negotiated and chosen three suppliers from Australia and Indonesia.
We chose three different suppliers to reduce the effects if one of them encounters problems.
We have also designed a coal storage facility which will have the capacity to keep the plant running for 40 days.
When choosing coal suppliers, we compared the difference in expenditure between using domestic coal and imported coal. The result was the same so it will not affect the price.
Does your group have any plans to sell a stake in the Kien Luong Plant to foreign investors?
About 49 percent of the Kien Luong Thermal Power Plant will be sold to foreign investors.
Recently, we have been researching potential investors. The sale will take place right after construction starts.
Would you please tell us something about the group’s business results in 2009?
Last year, we estimate that the group reached a revenue of VND1.2 trillion of which VND420 billion was net-profit.
After Plant No.1 is put into operation in 2013, we will begin construction of Plant No.2, which should become operational in the second quarter of 2014.