Vietnam Central Province to Have Additional 38 Hydropower Plants by 2020

Thirty eight hydropower plants with a combined annual power output of over five billion kWh will be built in the western parts of central Quang Nam province by 2020, according to a provincial plan.

 

Eight big plants a combined capacity of 1,194 MW will be built on the Vu Gia-Thu Bon rive system. Thee of which namely 201-MW A Vuong, 60-MW Song Con and 60-MW Song Tranh 2 are under construction while two others including Dak Mi 4 and Song Boung are slated for the start late this year.

 

Among 30 small and medium-sized plants to be built in midland Que Son and Dai Loc districts and some other mountainous districts, five ones including Khe Dien, An Dinh, Song Cung, An Diem 2, and Dak Mi 2 are under construction.

 

Quang Nam province tops the list in central Vietnam with 53 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 1,551 MW costing VND31 trillion (US$1.83 billion), which had been approved by the end of 2008, said Tran Van Tri, director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.  

 

By 2010, massive hydropower plants will come into operation in Quang Nam with a combined capacity of 750 MW and an expected electricity output of 3.4 billion kWh per year. If electricity is averagely priced at VND700/kWh, the province is estimated to rake in nearly VND2.4 trillion (US$142 million) from hydroelectricity sale by the time. (Vietnam & World Economy)