Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province proposes the Government to appoint the Investor of LNG Long Son Power Complex in Long Son Commune, Vung Tau City for the GTPP-MC-GE Contractor Group.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province proposes the Government to appoint the Investor of LNG Long Son Power Complex in Long Son Commune, Vung Tau City for the GTPP-MC-GE Contractor Group.
On the afternoon of 12th August, Mr. Le Tuan Quoc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province said that he met with the provincial authorities and agreed with the Government’s proposal in appointing the Investor of LNG Long Son Power Complex (Phase 1 with a capacity of about 1,200-1500 MW) in Long Son Commune, Vung Tau City for the GTPP-MC-GE Contractor Group.
The LNG Long Son Power Complex Project, Phase 1 was approved and supplemented by the Prime Minister in the National Power Development Master Plan on 23rd April 2020 and the Ministry of Industry and Trade also issued the official statement No. 4084/BCT- DL dated 8th June 2020 on guiding a number of contents related to this Project.
Since 2017, the Investor Group including Power Generation Joint Stock Corporation 3 (GENCO 3), Thanh Thanh Cong Investment Joint Stock Company (TTC), Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 2 (PECC2), Pacific Corporation Joint Stock Company (PACIFIC), Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), and General Electric International INC (GE), referred to as the GTPP-MC-GE Group and represented by Power Generation Joint Stock Company 3, proposed to research and develop the Long Son Power Complex Project. The People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province and GENCO 3 also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on investment commitment and investment support for the Long Son Power Complex Project in early 2018.
To implement the proposal of this investment idea, GENCO 3 has hired consultants to conduct investment survey and research, prepare procedures to apply for approval of the planning area, and prepare additional Report on the National Power Development Master Plan and propose to organize meetings to consider and consult ministries, branches and localities. The Ministry of Industry and Trade also organized on-field surveys to appraise and supplement the planning.
Up to now, the preparation duration has lasted about 4 years; however, there are still many difficulties, problems in terms of policies, implementation and preparation process of bidding documents for the Project.
According to opinions of Ms. Bui Thi Dung, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, currently there is no process of bidding procedures to select investors for projects that must be organized bidding procedures in accordance with specialized laws (regulations in Clause 3, Article 16, Decree No. 25/2020/ND-CP on detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Bidding Law on investor selection); and there is no detailed construction planning at the scale of 1/2000 for the land area and water surface of Long Son Power Complex Project to determine planning criteria, land use criteria in bidding documents.
The Project is complicated in terms of technical and technological aspects, the Project’s overall layout is subject to the technology selection of each investor, so that only Project’s investors are eligible to prepare detailed planning at the scale of 1/2000 to submit to competent authorities for approval. From there, it will ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the Project and avoid planning adjustments, thereby saving the state budget and performance time.
In addition, based on Article 15 of the Bidding Law 2013, investment projects using land areas must be subject to the international bidding, including bidding packages for supply of consulting services, non-consulting services, construction and installation that domestic contractors fail to meet. At the same time, the Department of Industry and Trade has no professional qualifications to develop technical criteria of the Project.
On the other hand, the Project has foreign investors, in case of the international bidding and selection of investors, it will take about 3 more years for stages of applying policy approvals, budget estimations, bidding for selection of investors, criteria preparation, bidding consultancy for establishment of bidding documents etc., for bidding. After selecting investors, it will take at least 5 years to construct infrastructures, ports, LNG warehouses, factories and until 2028 to complete Phase 1 of LNG Long Son Power Complex.
Meanwhile, according to directions of the Prime Minister, LNG Long Son Power Complex must complete its Phase 1 in the period of 2025 - 2026 to promptly operate and supplement power sources for the socio-economic development, ensuring the energy security in the coming years.
During the process from the time that the idea is proposed to the time the Prime Minister approved to supplement the National Power Development Master Plan (adjusted Power Planning VII), only GTPP-MC-GE Group is only investors, no other investors propose any idea in this site.
