Vinh Tan 4 Thermal Power Plant will provide 7.2 billion kWh per year once operating in 2018.— Photo nangluongvietnam.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) plans to kick off a US$1.3 billion Vinh Tan 4 thermal power plant in the central province of Binh Thuan on March 9.

The 1,200 megawatt (MW) plant, located in the Vinh Tan Commune in Tuy Phong District, is expected to generate 7.2 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) annually to ease the shortage of electricity in southern Viet Nam, said EVN.

As scheduled, the first turbine will join the national grid in 2017 and the second in 2018.

EVN said that this month the Vinh Tan Port will start receiving coal transported from the northern province of Quang Ninh.

EVN said the electricity consumption capacity nationwide reached 18.3 billion kWh in the dry season, an increase of 8.6 per cent over the same period last year. The consumption usually rises during the dry season which lasts from October to May.

In the first two months of this year, EVN connected some thermal power plants to the national grid, including the first turbine of the 622 MW Vinh Tan 2 Plant and the second turbine of the 300 MW Hai Phong 2 Plant.

It has also started the construction of a 600 MW thermal power plant in the northern province of Thai Binh. — VNS