Kien Luong power station

Kiên Lương power station is a proposed 4,400-5,200-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 district, Kiên Giang province.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

Project Details

 * Sponsor: Tan Tao Energy Corporation
 * Parent company: Tan Tao Group
 * Location: Kiên Lương district, Kiên Giang province, Vietnam
 * Coordinates: 10.23225, 104.59886 (exact)
 * Status: Development
 * Gross Capacity: 4,400-5,200 MW (Kiên Lương-1: 1,200 MW; Kiên Lương-2: 1,200 MW; Kiên Lương-3: 2,000 MW)
 * Type: Supercritical
 * Projected in service: TBD
 * Coal Type:
 * Coal Source: Australia, Russia, Indonesia
 * Source of financing: Standard Chartered Bank

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Vietnam and coal