A large number of sluggish power projects in Vietnam, particularly coal-fired ones, is mainly blamed for the current power shortage nationwide, said officials.
Hoang Tien Dung, the department’s deputy director said all coal-fired power projects in the country are stagnant and some are even 10 years behind schedule.
Former Chairman of the Vietnam Energy Institute, Dr. Nguyen Manh Hien attributed the current power shortage to slow paces of the Hai Phong and Quang Ninh coal-fired power projects.
Construction of the 600-MW Hai Phong 1 power plant was started in November but is nearly 20 months behind schedule while the 600-MW Quang Ninh 1 power plant is 14 months behind schedule, Hien elaborated.
Hien noted that if these plants were operational on schedule, nearly 30 million kWh of power would be added to the national power supply, which could help avoid the current power shortage.
Among investors that prime minister selected for 13 coal-fired power projects with a combined capacity of 13,800 MW since end-2008, only the state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) is carrying out the Vung Ang power projects but others have taken no move, he added.
Do Duc Quan, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Energy Department said almost all large-scale hydropower projects are behind their schedules, including Cua Dat, Dong Nai 3, Dong Nai 4 and Ban Trat.
Difficulties in capital mobilization and weak competence by investors and contractors have held back construction paces of many power projects plus unreasonable and overlapped power development planning and uncompetitive power prices, Hoang Tien Dung assessed.
In consent to Dung’s view, Le Tuan Phong, deputy director of the department’s thermal power office added complicated and prolonged bidding mechanism and weak competence by Chinese contractors to the stagnant implementation of massive power projects in Vietnam.
Concerning recent en masse power cuts, Hanoi Deputy Mayor Nguyen Huy Tuong criticized Hanoi Power Corporation, an affiliate of the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) for insufficient power supply in the capital city in recent weeks.
The municipal Department of Industry and Trade admitted its lack of responsibility to power supply, which resulted in recent en masse power cuts in the city.
However, EVN Hanoi Deputy General Director Vu Quang Hung said the city will continue to incur power cuts through end-2010 with exception for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi due to increasing demand which is estimated to have risen 22% versus supply to 39.3 million kWh per day on June 18. (Young People, Youth, News)
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