Vietnam to import up to 7m tons of coal by 2017

By Tri Subhki R

Vietnam will import seven million tons of coal per year, mostly from Indonesia, starting in 2017 to meet the fuel needs of its power plants, according to A&A Commodities, a Vietnamese trading company.

The state-owned power utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) has started the initial phase development of a 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant in Binh Thuan Province, Central Vietnam, while another state-owned power PetroVietnam plans to build its 1,200 MW coal-fired power plant in Long Phu. The EVN?s project is scheduled to start the operation of its first turbine of 600 MW in 2017, while PetroVietnam will start building its power plant in the end of 2017.

?The coal import by 2017 will increase to 7 million tons compared to 1.5 million tons this year,? A&A Commodities? Sales Manager Don Nguyen said to Petromindo.com.

EVN has just closed the tender for a 10 year long term coal supply contract two months ago. Nguyen said the tender attracted 15 bidders and EVN will choose only four coal suppliers. He added that up to 70 percent of the total 7 million tons of coal supply is expected to be sourced from Indonesia, and the remaining 30 percent from Australia.

Both power plants will require coal with calorific value of 4,700 kcal/kg (GAR) and 5,700 kcal/kg (GAR), Nguyen said.

To support the power generation development, the government of Vietnam, in collaboration with an Australian company, plans to build an offshore coal terminal to accommodate coal-carrying Panamax vessels.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon