According to the planning, export of coal would be under a close management in order to gradually reduce export volumes and only certain types of coal, which Viet Nam did not have demand for in terms of consumption, would be allowed to be shipped abroad. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Dat

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam will develop a technologically-advanced coal mining industry with high competitiveness moving towards sustainability in the next five years to contribute to ensuring energy security.

This was the overall goal of the coal industry's development planning to 2020, with a vision to 2030, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung earlier last week.

The planning said that advanced technologies would be applied in all processes, from exploration to processing to providing coal for domestic production, and especially coal for electricity production. In addition, all coal mines would meet environmental standards before 2020.

According to the planning, export of coal would be under a close management in order to gradually reduce export volumes and only certain types of coal, which Viet Nam did not have demand for in terms of consumption, would be allowed to be shipped abroad.

This was necessary when Viet Nam still had to import coal to make up for the shortage of coal for thermoelectricity production. The shortage was anticipated to become more severe by 2020.

The planning estimated that coal output would reach between 47 million tonnes and 50 million tonnes in 2020, while the country's total demand for coal was estimated at 86.4 million tonnes, of which 64.1 tonnes would be for electricity production. By 2030, Viet Nam would need totally 156.6 million tonnes of coal, while the output was estimated to be between 55 million tonnes and 57 million tonnes.

At a meeting held in November last year, the Viet Nam Energy Association said that there would be a shortage of about 12 million tonnes of coal for electricity production in the next five years.

New mines

According to the planning, the total coal reserves as of the end of 2015 was estimated at 48.88 billion tonnes, more than 3 billion tonnes of which would be used for the planning to 2020 and come mainly from the Dong Bac (North East) coal basin.

Besides the Dong Bac coal basin, which stretched through Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong provinces, coal reserves were also located in Song Hong (Red River) coal basin which covered Thai Binh,

Hung Yen and Nam Dinh provinces, and included six domestic mines and more than 100 small-scale mines.

According to the planning, expansion of existing mines together with developing new ones would continue till 2030, in order to increase coal output.

Despite the Song Hong coal basin's huge reserves, the basin was still under exploration and the exploitation would be very tough and complicated. The planning said that between 2020 and 2030, pilot exploitation using new technologies would be carried out at Song Hong basin as a base for the development of mines on an industrial production scale.

The planning estimated that the coal mining industry would need totally VND269 trillion (US$12 billion) by 2030. — VNS