A view of Formosa thermal power plant in the southern Dong Nai Province. — Photo dantri.com.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has allowed the Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Co. Ltd. (Formosa) to import coal for electricity production at its thermal power plant in Dong Nai Province.

The approval has been given as the power plant in the southern province's Nhơn Trạch 3 industrial park (IP) plays an important role in the southern energy grid, supplying electricity to Formosa's factories as well as 17 other factories in the IP, and contributing to the country's energy security, the online vneconomy newspaper said.

The ministry of industry and trade (MoIT) has requested the general customs department to help Formosa with import procedures.

The ministry said that as per the electricity master plan VII, the thermal plant, which became operational in 2004, has a total capacity of 300MW, which it can meet using imported coal.

Last month, Formosa had to go through two major Vietnamese importers, Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corporation (Vinacomin) and Đong Bắc Coal Corporation, to procure coal. The company is allowed to import directly only once it gets the PM's approval. Formosa has been importing coal for power generation since 2004.

Formosa said the quality of local coal is not good enough nor compatible with the technology used at the thermal power plant.

Vedan Viet Nam Enterprise Corporation Limited has also submitted a proposal to the PM, the MoIT, the finance ministry and the customs department for approval to import coal for electricity production without going through domestic intermediaries. The PM has not yet responded to the proposal.

Viet Nam has imported 10.5 million tonnes of coal in the first nine months of the year, a 147 per cent year-on-year increase, which is much higher than the MoIT's forecast, according to discussions held at a forum last week. The country has spent US$630 million to import coal in this period.

The country's coal inventory is high at 10.8 million tonnes, but it lacks clean coal for local household consumption.

Nguyen Van Bien, Vinacomin's deputy general director, said the past decade has been a difficult period for the coal sector because of high inventory and decreasing exports. — VNS