Gov't fixes deadlines for key power and transport projects

Specifically, the Government tasked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to put the first and the second turbine generator of the Song Hau 1 coal-fired power plant into operation in the second and third quarter of 2021, respectively.

The 1,200MW plant is located in the Song Hau Power Complex in Phu Huu A industrial cluster of the Chau Thanh district in the southern province of Hau Giang.

Song Hau 1 is the first of the three power plants situated at the complex with total installed capacity of 5,200MW.

The Government also requested the ministry to ensure that the first and the second turbine generator of the Thai Binh 2 coal-fired power plant will come into operation by December 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, respectively.

The plant, invested by Petro Viet Nam, has designed capacity of 1,200MW and is expected to supply 7.2 billion kWh to the national grid once it comes into operation, playing an important role in ensuring the national energy security.

Viet Nam is forecast to need 131 billion kWh of coal-fired power, or 49.3% of the total power production as of 2020, according to the Revised Power Development Master Plan for 2011-2020 with vision to 2030.

However, 19 thermal power plants have been registered and only three of them have been put into operation.

Transport projects

The Government tasked the Minister of Transport and Chairman of the Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee to ensure the full completion and inauguration of the Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway project by 2021.

The four-lane expressway has total length of about 51 kilometers, with 4.5 kilometers of access roads, and it runs through five outlying districts of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

It starts at the intersection of Than Cuu Nghia T-Junction and HCMC-Trung Luong Expressway and end at the intersection with National Highway 30.

The total approved investment capital for the project is around VND9.6 trillion.

For the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in Ha Noi, the Minister of Transport is assigned to report to the Prime Minister about issues related to pilot operation before September 30, 2019.

The elevated railway line stretches over 13km, linking Dong Da district's Cat Linh street with the Yen Nghia Bus Station in Ha Dong district.

The metro line was approved in 2008 with the total investment capital of VND18 trillion ($782.6 million), $669.62 million of which come from loans from China with the remainder being reciprocal capital.

Regarding the Long Thanh International Airport project, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for accelerating the verification of the feasibility reportso that it could besubmittedon time to 14th National Assembly at 8th working session scheduled to start in October this year.

Located in the southern province of Dong Nai, construction of the airport will cost VND336.63 trillion (US$14.64 billion) and will be divided into three phases.

In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal, along with other supporting works, will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tones of cargo annually. The phase is expected to be completed by 2025.

In the second phase, one more runway and another passenger terminal will be built to serve around 50 million passengers and 1.5 million tons of cargo a year.

After the third phase, the airport will be able to serve 100 million passengers and handle five million tons of cargo each year.

(Source: VGP)