PHI Group plugs into VHC vision

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PHI Group chairman Henry Fahman last week announced it  had grabbed a 51 per cent stake in Vietnam-Hungary Technological Application Joint Stock Company (VHC) for an undisclosed sum.

VHC was licenced by Phu Quoc Island Investment and Development Management Authority to build power generating facilities on 8.7 hectares in southern Kien Giang province’s Hon Thom Island,  using solar energy clusters and wind power modules. The facilities will provide 1,270 kilowatt peak (kwp) of electricity to the local end-users.

PHI Group expected to start construction of the Hon Thom Island project in the next two months and construction would take six months, said Farman. The project developer expected to begin generating revenues from the sale of electricity directly to end-users, currently estimated at 21.4 cents per kwp, within 60 days following the receipt of equipment shipments.

With the initial capacity, VHC will also receive capital for six tonnes of CO2 per day at the price of $18 per tonne as stipulated by the Vietnamese government. After the project’s first phase is completed, PHI and VHC intend to increase capacity to 50 megawatts peak to meet the island’s growing demand for energy in 2013.

“The power plant will use solar energy clusters and wind power modules to create efficiency five times greater than projects using normal technologies. Moreover, the cost of design and installation are cheaper, but with higher capacity,” said Fahman.

Last month, PHI Group shook hands with Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to invest into two coal-fired power projects in southern An Giang and central Quang Tri provinces. The projects are developed by PHI and two other Vietnamese partners with capacity of 2,000MW and 3,600MW, respectively.