South Korean contractor Samsung C&T has formed a joint venture with Vietnamese counterpart Lilama to build one of Vietnam’s first power stations to be fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The USD 940M engineering, procurement, and construction deal were announced by Lilama this week. It will involve the construction of two 750MW plants at an existing site in the southern province of Dong Nai.
Nhon Trach 3 and 4 will be developed over the course of 36 months with generation to start sometime between 2024 and 2025. Whether it will be Vietnam’s first LNG plant depends on progress at an even larger plant in Long An province, to the east of Ho Chi Minh City. This is being built by a consortium led by South Korea’s GS Energy and local developer VinaCapital.
Other LNG plants are planned by Singaporean company Delta Offshore Energy in the Mekong delta province of Bac Lieu in 2024 and Exxon Mobil hopes to build the largest of them all: a USD 5bn plant in the northern port city of Haiphong.
The dash for LNG is being driven by a looming power shortage caused by Vietnam’s rapid industrial growth, and a move away from coal plants to less carbon-intensive forms of generation.