By Kevin Lee
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has decided to push ahead with the Vietnam Vung Ang 2 coal power plant project as planned. KEPCO said it passed an agenda for investment in Vietnam's Vung Ang 2 project at a board meeting held on Oct. 5.
The project, ordered by Vietnam's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, is to build and operate a 1,200MW (two 600MW units) power plant in Ha Tinh Province, 300 kilometers south of Hanoi, Vietnam. The total cost of the project amounts to $2.2 billion (some 2.6 trillion won).
Initially, Mitsubishi of Japan and Hong Kong's CLP participated in this project by 40% each and Japan's Chugoku Electric Power Corporation by 20%.
However, as CLP decided to withdraw its participation in the project, KEPCO decided to buy 40% of CLP's shares in accordance with Mitsubishi's proposal, which has been leading the project.
With the passage of the board of directors, KEPCO plans to sign a business contract and a financial contract by the end of this year, and start construction sometime next year to complete the project in January 2025.
KEPCO plans to build a power plant with ultra-critical pressure technology that minimizes carbon emissions and install additional eco-friendly facilities to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Regarding profitability, KEPCO also stressed that it is possible to generate stable profits by signing a 25-year long-term power sales contract with Vietnam Electric Power Corp.
KEPCO especially suggested that the project is a 'Team Korea' project. As Korean institutions and companies participate in the entire process of carrying out projects, including the construction of power plant (Doosan Heavy and Samsung C&T), operation (KEPCO and power generation companies), and finance (Export and Import Bank of Korea and Hana Bank), high levels of national interest creation are expected.