HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — The Electricity of Viet Nam Group (EVN) began construction of the Duyen Hai 3 thermo power extension in Duyen Hai District of the Mekong Delta of Tra Vinh on Saturday.

The 660MW Duyen Hai 3 thermo power plant extension will have a capacity to produce 3.9 billion kWh per year.

Total investments for the plant amounts to VND22.78 trillion (US$1.07 billion), including $891 million for the engineering – procurement – construction contract.

Further, 85 per cent of the investments for the project come from loans from overseas and domestic sources, while the remaining 15 per cent is supplied from EVN's counter capital.

The Duyen Hai 3 power plant extension is scheduled to be completed and brought into operation within 42 months, according to EVN officials.

In November, a contract for construction of the Duyen Hai 3 thermo power extension was signed between EVN and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation.

On Saturday, EVN also brought the coal-fueled Duyen Hai 1 plant into operation, seeking to connect it with the national power grid by the end of this year. The thermo power plant Duyen Hai 1 has a capacity of 7.8 billion kWh per year.

Duyen Hai 1 and Duyen Hai 3 are the two thermo power plants at the Duyen Hai Electricity Centre.

The decision to build Duyen Hai Electricity Centre in Tra Vinh demonstrates the Government's attention to economic development in the Mekong Delta region, according to Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

Duyen Hai Electricity Center, which includes three power plants, will stimulate the region's economic development, generate local jobs and contribute substantially to the local annual budget, while creating a base for investments to enter the region. —VNS