Energy and transport in sights for Adani

Adani founder and chairman Gautam Adani met with Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh last week

Indian multinational Adani Group made its official entrance in Vietnam on December 22 by opening a representative office in Hanoi, beginning its investment journey worth $10 billion over the next five years.

The opening was part of a visit from a delegation of the Indian group to Hanoi on December 22-23, meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as well as transport and industry and trade ministers, and leaders of several Vietnamese groups.

At the meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, CEO Karan Adani said that the group is seeking investment opportunities in transport, seaports, renewable energy, and coal supply in Vietnam

“We are developing a full ecosystem of renewable energy development. In Vietnam, this will include Vinh Tan III and Mong Duong II thermal power plants,” Adani said.

“In addition, we are interested in supplying coal to Vietnam and seek to sign an agreement with a Vietnamese partner to do this,” he added. “We see that Vietnam is equitising state-owned electricity transmission companies, and we are keen to join this field.”

In response, Minister Dien said that Vietnam is promoting an energy transition towards developing renewables, gas-to-power energy, and liquefied natural gas ventures.

“Vietnam encourages Adani to invest in transport, logistics, renewable energy, power transmission, and smart energy grids,” said Dien. “If Adani has suitable coal sources with quality and competitive price, we highly welcome them.”

Energy transmission was previously wholly invested in by the state, but since mid-2022 the country has allowed private companies to invest in the field. Dien therefore noted that the country is considering piloting private investments in high-voltage power transmission.

In addition to renewable energy, Adani is seeking to join transport projects in Vietnam. At the meeting with Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang, the group expressed its strong interest in seaports, airports, and inland waterway transport initiatives.

According to the group, it will start the investment path in Vietnam with the $2 billion Lien Chieu Seaport in the central city of Danang, in cooperation with Vietnam Maritime Corporation.

“We are preparing for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of Lien Chieu Seaport. It shows our commitment to the investment arena in Vietnam, and we expect to develop an industrial park complex with the port,” said Adani.

Many globally renowned names in renewables and transport have already made moves in these industries in Vietnam. In early December, International Holdings Company at a meeting with Vietnamese PM declared that Vietnam is a top strategic priority. It also eyes investment and cooperation opportunities in seaports, logistics, digital transformation, and smart cities.

In the energy sector, Singapore-based renewables platform LYS Energy is poised to aggressively expand its commercial and industrial rooftop solar portfolio in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Norwegian energy group Equinor signed an MoU with state-run PetroVietnam in November, after opening a representative office in the capital in 2022.

Vietnam explores renewable energy export strategy On December 23, Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha tasked the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) with developing a framework to explore wind and solar energy.