Ho Tram Strip inks $63 milion natural gas deal

The $63 million (net present value) investment will be deployed on a BOO (Build-Own-Operate) model, which will see a power station built within the existing Central Plant Building on the company’s 164 hectare site.

“With our signing today, we become the first tourism developer in Vietnam to fully switch to self-generated, greener energy sources. This pioneering move sees us invest in a natural-gas fueled plant that will emit less than half of the carbon dioxide and significantly less harmful particulates and carbon monoxide than coal powered systems,” said HTP’s executive chairman Michael Kelly.

Climate-scientists estimate that natural gas emits 50 to 60 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted in a new, efficient natural gas power plant compared with emissions from a typical new coal plant. They note also that natural gas from a modern facility that minimises methane emissions burn significantly cleaner than other fossil fuels, releasing negligible dangerous chemicals into the environment.

“Our 15 year agreement will provide cleaner-energy for our 1100 room The Grand and Beach Club resorts, supply all of the requirements for The Bluffs golf course including its Gallery Villas, and in future can be expanded to include the newly announced Kahuna condotel, and future facilities including the second integrated resort, additional resorts and entertainment amenities including the forthcoming amphitheater and waterpark,” Kelly said. “This plant will see a significant decrease in both our reliance upon Vietnam’s grid and our carbon footprint. This transition to our own power station via the state of the art technology that PVGasD is deploying sees us able to efficiently use the by-product of electricity generation – heat - to supply hot water for the resorts, but also through harvesting residual energy, it will supply us with cool water for use in the air conditioning systems.”

Switching to its own ‘COGEN’ (co-generated) power system is set to revolutionise the way in which large integrated companies' source their power in Vietnam. Cogeneration systems, also known as combined heat and power systems, generate both electricity and usable thermal energy. Instead of losing heat energy during the power generation process, Cogen systems re-use the thermal energy for a more efficient and environmentally friendly power source.

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with Ho Tram Strip on a development that will power this project for decades to come with a reliable, scalable and environmentally friendly source of seven megawatts of power together with 2000 refrigeration tonnes capacity for air-conditioning and refrigeration capacity. This is the first project of its kind to be built at a tourism development such as this, and represents a pioneering move into the way in which enterprises are adopting greener sources of power,” said Do Pham Hong Minh, PVGasD deputy director.

Build out is expected to commence later this year, and the plant is projected to fire-up for the first time in late 2018.

Ho Tram Strip is the first resort complex in the nation to cooperate with a Vietnamese company on such a power station and is leading its peers in technology.

The $63 million investment comes hot-on-the-heels of HTP’s Kahuna condotel preview, itself a $60 million commitment to the nation. To date, HTP parent company ACDL has current and forward-deployed over $1.1 billion in Vietnam.

The company’s commitment to the nation has seen a flurry of activity in the past few months, with new amenities added to The Grand including restaurant refurbishments and the addition of a spectacular fountain show, both set to go-live in a matter of weeks.

Meanwhile the 559-room second Grand Tower, dubbed The Beach Club, is reaching for the skies at present. Construction on the 12^th floor is well underway, with the building set to top-out in September ahead of a 12-month interior fit-out for a target opening date around October 2018.

At The Bluffs, numerous Gallery Villas are under construction. The company is also well into the approval processes for the development of a charter airport on a site near the Strip.

HTP recently became the first company in the country to apply to host a pilot programme for local gaming, following the government’s decision to legalise casino gaming for Vietnamese nationals. It has previously led the pilot for foreigner-only gaming, and at present is the only site in Vietnam able to offer an international standard gaming environment for local play.

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