After the meeting with Secretary of Nam Dinh Party Committee Pham Gia Tuc on May 24 in Nam Dinh province, Taekwang Power Holdings general director Sang Young Jin expressed his determination to develop the Nam Dinh 1 thermal power plant, which has been delayed for over 10 years.

According to Jin, the reason for the delay in starting construction is that the company has faced a myriad of financial problems while completing the procedures. There was also a major change in the shareholders of the company.

During the meeting, Jin shared the plan to complete the procedures by the end of 2023 and kick off the construction.

Jin stated that the company has completed the arrangement of capital and adjusted the investment plan in terms of modern environmental protection, meeting the standard regulated at COP 26.

He hoped to receive support from the provincial leadership and the relevant authorities.

In 2010, the investor, which is a consortium of Taekwang and Acwa Power Co., unveiled the initial preparations to implement the project. Six years later, an agreement for the thermal power plant project was signed by the General Department of Energy and the consortium of investors.

In 2017, the investor received the registration certificate, which was granted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. However, no progress has been made since, despite the province allocating a large amount of land for the resettlement of residents and the development of the project.

The project was due to have a capacity of 1,200MW (two generating units of 600MW each) and a total investment of more than $2 billion. It was planned to supply power for Nam Dinh province and the northern region. The plant would be fuelled by coal from Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group as the main supplier.

Taekwang Power Holdings, a Taekwang Group company, was established in 2008 in an attempt to participate in a power plant development in Vietnam. Taekwang Group has expanded its business portfolio from shoe-making into petrochemicals and real estate, and has now grown to become a power plant project developer and operator. It continues to increase its activities in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.