Mitsubishi withdraws from Vinh Tan 3 thermal power plant

Vinh Tan 3 Thermal Power Plant is located in Vinh Tan Power Center on the coast of Binh Thuan

The move marks the first time Mitsubishi pulls out of a thermal power project. The Japanese company plans to invest in energy projects that have a low-environmental impact, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy such as solar power.

Vung An 3 thermal plant, a separate project from Vung An 2, is a joint project between the governments of Vietnam and Japan.

Some of the large bank investors of this project are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Standard Chartered. HSBC have already pulled out.

Vinh Tan 3 thermal power plant is scheduled to come into operation in 2024. It is the largest project in Vietnam with over $2 billion of investment capital.

Its investors involve Vietnam Electricity (29 per cent), Pacific Group and OneEnergy Asia Ltd. (49 per cent), a partnership of Hong Kong’s CLP Holdings and Japan’s Mitsubishi Group.

Phan Xuan Duong, deputy general director of Vinh Tan 3 Energy JSC said that under the pressure of environmental organisations worldwide, almost all investors and equipment manufacturers are under pressure to not invest in coal-fired power projects.

He said that the company is working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the government to find other investors. The new build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts were signed at the end of December 2020 and await the government's approval.

As for the draft Power Development Plan VIII of the MoIT, Vinh Tan 3 is involved in the group of 116 power generation projects which are behind schedule. The project is held off due to the long time of investment preparation and BOT contracts.

Currently, thermal power plants that have been built and put into operation in Vinh Tan Power Center are Vinh Tan 1, Vinh Tan 2, Vinh Tan 4, and the expanded Vinh Tan 4 thermal power plant.