Raft of deals boost Sembcorp standing

Sembcorp is looking to strengthen Vietnam’s solar energy talent pool

As part of the group’s strategy to transform its portfolio “from brown to green”, Sembcorp is scaling up its investment in energy solutions in Vietnam. The areas of collaboration in the newest agreements include sustainable industrial park development, a reliable power system, renewable energy and technology, and skills and capabilities building.

The signed agreements were presented to State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and key members of his cabinet last Friday, on the sidelines of his state visit to Singapore.

The first agreement covers the development of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in the southern province of Binh Duong. The 1,000-hectare park will be co-developed by Sembcorp and Becamex IDC, with the aim of becoming a smart and sustainable IP in Vietnam. Smart technology, including real-time tracking devices, will be incorporated across its operations, from energy, water and waste use, to traffic and security management.

Sembcorp will also explore providing a wider range of sustainable solutions such as micro-grid-integrated solar and battery storage, wastewater recovery, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Sembcorp signed an MoU with Electricity of Vietnam to exchange best practices in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of the power system, with technologies such as smart grids and energy storage systems, as well as developing renewable energy projects.

The two remaining deals will commence the establishment of two green energy and innovation centres: the EIU-Sembcorp Centre for Sustainable Solutions and the Vietnam-Singapore i4.0 Innovation Centre.

The first centre marks Sembcorp’s partnership with Eastern International University of Vietnam (EIU) for the purpose of driving sustainable solutions for Vietnam’s clean energy transition and strengthening the country’s solar energy talent pool. By promoting capability building amongst students and faculty in the solar sector, this collaboration hopes to see opportunities to jointly embark on industry-related research projects and develop new technologies for commercial implementation.

The Vietnam-Singapore i4.0 Innovation Centre, also located at EIU, is a joint offering from Sembcorp, EIU, Becamex, Singapore Polytechnic International, and the Singapore-based Smart i4.0 Transformation Alliance (SiTA), aiming to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0 technology in Vietnam’s manufacturing industry.

The centre will be co-funded by VSIP and Becamex, while training for students will be provided at EIU and supported by SiTA and Singapore Polytechnic International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of tertiary education institution Singapore Polytechnic. The centre will also offer training and consultancy to small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises based in VSIP and Becamex-owned industrial parks, to adopt relevant solutions for the workforce in this sector.

Sembcorp president and CEO Wong Kim Yin said, “Vietnam has been one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies and is a core market in Sembcorp’s transformation strategy. The collaborations reaffirm our deep commitment to Vietnam. We look forward to working with like-minded partners as we create synergies to build a greener and more sustainable future for the country.”

Sembcorp started investing in Vietnam in 1996 and has been supporting the country’s industrialisation through 11 VSIP integrated townships and industrial parks, as well as Phu My 3 power plant.

It has also been a long-time power generation partner of Vietnam, through the development of Vietnam’s first independent power project – a 746MW combined-cycle gas turbine facility. Overall, the group has generated $15.6 billion of investments and created more than 293,000 employment opportunities in the country.

Earlier this year, Sembcorp signed an MoU with KN Energy Group for the development of renewable energy projects in Vietnam, including a 500 megawatt-peak floating solar power project in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

In December last year, the group also announced a collaborative agreement with BCG Energy to jointly identify and develop a pipeline of up to 1.5GW of wind and solar projects in Vietnam.