Financial Losses and Delays: Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Dong Nai Thermal Power Plant Project Faces Urgent Challenges

On May 9, the progress of the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Dong Nai Thermal Power Plant project was discussed at a meeting. The project, which has an investment of $1.4 billion, is the first thermal power project in Vietnam to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) and has a capacity of 1,624 MW. According to the national energy plan approved by the Prime Minister in 2019, Nhon Trach 3 is expected to start test electricity generation in May and commercial operation in November, while Nhon Trach 4 is set to operate in May 2025. However, despite having already disbursed about $30 billion VND with daily interest payments of around $6-7 billion VND due to an average loan interest rate of 8% per year, the overall progress of the project is only at about 85%.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien revealed that these plants are facing significant financial losses due to schedule delays. The slow progress of the project has resulted in Dong Nai province losing revenue of approximately $6-6.5 billion VND per day from electricity generation. This has led to daily losses of about $12-13 billion VND for the plants, with additional uncalculated losses affecting the investment environment and power supply for the country.

The project has faced three main bottlenecks: issues related to power purchase agreements, gas supply, and capacity release lines have been resolved. However, a delay in site clearance and land procedures in Dong Nai has caused a six-month delay for Nhon Trach 3 and subsequently affected Nhon Trach 4 as well. Minister Dien emphasized that resolving these issues is crucial for ensuring that the project stays on track and avoids further delays or risks of failure.

Dong Nai province was urged to expedite the issuance of a Land Use Rights Certificate to PV Power before May so that it can provide a legal basis for the project’s continuation once operational. Once completed, both thermal power plants are expected to contribute approximately $9 billion kWh annually to Vietnam’s national electricity system. The joint venture between Samsung C&T Corporation and Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation is responsible for overseeing construction work on both projects.

In conclusion, despite significant investments made towards this thermo-power plant development initiative; schedule delays have led substantial financial losses for both plants leading up until now; with only about 85% progress made out of total plan goals set by government officials back in 2019 – urgent attention must be paid off addressing all challenges still present; most importantly clearing up land procedures issues causing significant delays leading up until now – before any further risks occur or even worse – complete failure!