HANOI – The Ministry of Industry and Trade and consulting firms have proposed the prime minister choose locations to develop 16 coal transit ports to serve coal-fired power projects to complete the national electricity development plan in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050.
According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An, to serve large coal-fired power projects, five ports will be developed in the northern and north-central regions, including Hon Net in Quang Ninh, Tien Hai in Thai Binh, Hon Me in Thanh Hoa, Son Duong in Ha Tinh and Quang Trach in Quang Binh.
Eleven other ports should be developed in the southern and south-central regions, consisting of Vinh Tan in Binh Thuan, those on the Go Gia River and the Ong Cho Island in HCMC, Soai Rap in Tien Giang, Duyen Hai in Tra Vinh, My Thanh in Soc Trang, Ganh Hao in Bac Lieu, Hon Khoai in Ca Mau, one on the Nam Du Island in Kien Giang, Con Dao in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Nam Van Phong in Khanh Hoa.
Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) had earlier proposed that the port on the Go Gia River in HCMC and the Hon Net Port in Quang Ninh Province will be floating, as the two locations would allow a shorter construction time and receive large vessels of 100,000 DWT.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN proposed developing ports under the bidding module form. In the southern region, ports will initially have a minimum capacity of 4.93 million tons of coal per year, meeting the coal transit demand of the Duyen Hai 3 and Duyen Hai 3 extension thermal power plants.
In the northern region, the initial capacity of ports will depend on the thermal power plants’ shift from using local coal to imported coal. If the demand for transiting coal rises, the capacity of ports will be increased.
However, floating ports will pose restrictions in applying technologies in blending coal and building large coal warehouses at ports.
Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not agree to develop a floating port on the Ong Cho Island.
EVN had also proposed hiring units to manage and operate coal transit ports due to the volatility of the volume of coal transited through ports, the high investment in ports and Vietnamese enterprises’ lack of experience in managing and operating transit ports.
