Thai investors tied up

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Two Thai investors’ oil refinery and thermoelectricity plant investment plans in central Binh Dinh province have stalled due to environment pollution concerns.

Man Ngoc Ly, director of Binh Dinh Economic Zone Management Authority, said the local authority was worried that the thermoelectricity plant could pollute the environment and the project had not been submitted to the government for approval.

The 700 megawatt power plant project was proposed at Binh Dinh Economic Zone by Thailand’s STFE Company last year. Early this year, the investor and Binh Dinh People’s Committee signed a memorandum of understanding for developing this project.

STFE Company plans to invest $850 million into a power plant, covering 60 hectares. It will import coal from Indonesia and Australia for the plant.

But Ly said the provincial committee could only submit this project to the government for adding into national power development master plan if STFE Company proved this project was environmental friendly.

“We don’t want any project polluting the environment. The Thai investor has to show that it has advanced and environment friendly technology,” said Ly.

At the end of this month, a delegation from Binh Dinh People’s Committee would go to Thailand to learn how STFE Company protects the environment at its power projects in Thailand.
“The final decision will be made after this trip,” said Ly.

The delay of STFE Company’s investment led to a delay of an oil refinery project proposed by Thailand’s Rayong Purifier Public Company, a partner of STFE Company. This oil refinery project, proposed at the same time with the thermoelectricity plant, has an annual capacity at three million tonnes of oil in the first phase. The investor announced it could double the total capacity in the second phase.

Rayong Purifier Public Company, founded in 1995, is now operating an oil refinery at Map Ta Put Industrial Estate in Thailand’s Rayong province. The refinery has a production capacity of 17,000 barrels a day, or 80 million litres per month. This company has also invested in a petrochemical factory in southern Can Tho city.

“Rayong Purifier Public Company said it would not push the oil refinery project ahead till the thermoelectricity project was approved. It explained that the investment could only be efficient if the oil refinery was built in line with the thermoelectricity plant,” Ly said.

Ly said the thermoelectricity and oil refinery projects had significant importance to provincial economic development and energy security of the country. “But we have to make environment protection the first priority,” he added.