Chinese company powers growth in South Vietnam

The coal-fired power plant constructed by Chinese companies in Vietnam is expected to generate as much as 9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually by 2019 to help solve the power shortages in southern areas of the country. 

The contract for China's biggest investment project in Vietnam, the Vinh Tan 1 Power Plant, was signed in 2015 by China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co Ltd (GEDI), a company focusing on infrastructure construction and energy and power planning. GEDI is based in Guangzhou Development District in the capital of South China's Guangdong province. 

"The energy production of Vietnam could barely meet local demand," said Luo Bixiong, president of GEDI. "The project aims to improve Vietnam's power supply and make contributions to the country's economic development." 

Employees of China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co Ltd work on a natural gas pipe project in Tanzania. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The newly built facility will serve 1.25 million local people with no less than 7,500 hours a year of electricity, the annual output value of which is expected to reach 4.5 billion yuan, Luo said. 

Ninety-five percent of the investment came from two State-owned Chinese enterprises, China Southern Power Grid and China Power International Development. 

Chinese companies will operate the power plant for 25 years, after which Vietnam will take over without charge, marking the first BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) investment by China in Vietnam. 

Luo said most of the materials and technology were provided by Chinese companies. 

"Vinh Tan 1 Power Plant comprises a whole industrial chain from planning, purchase, installation and operation to maintenance," he said. 

"Electricity is the engine of economic development. I saw five-star hotels, highways and airports spring up in Vinh Tan over those years, which was quite different from what it was like in 2005." 

Sixty percent of the employees at the power station are local people. The transfer of technology and management ideas may have sustainable benefits for Vietnam, he added. 

Founded in 1958, GEDI has more than 40 projects under operation in about 50 countries and regions, including Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Italy, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina. About 40 percent of its income last year came from overseas projects, according to Luo. 

Phan Dinh Van, an employee with the project, said many locals like him had chosen to work in southern Vietnam, which was more than 300 kilometers from his hometown. 

"When power plant built by Chinese companies starts operating, young people can find jobs there," he said. 

Le Duyen, who worked at the Vinh Tan 1 Power Plant, said she found a job in Ho Chi Minh City after graduation, but has now chosen to come back. 

"Ho Chi Minh is too far from my hometown," she said. "I returned because I believed the project has great potential." 

Le said her job was to upload design drawings into the computer system.