On May 9, the State Steering Committee for Important National and Key Energy Projects led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien worked at the construction site of Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants in Nhon Trach district of the southern province of Dong Nai. These two projects have a total capital of $1.4 billion and a total capacity of 1,624 MW.

If everything proceeds according to the plan, Nhon Trach 3 will be finished and will be able to generate commercial power in November 2004, whilst Nhon Trach 4 will follow suit in May 2025.

However, as of April, the workload is only 85 per cent complete. This means that the construction process of Nhon Trach 3 is delayed for six months compared to the deadline due to barriers in land clearance. Meanwhile, the delay of Nhon Trach 3 will lead to delays in the Nhon Trach 4 deadline.

The investor reported to the State Steering Committee that the total area having clear ground relating to the land of Ong Keo Industrial Park was 30.7 hectares, and there are barriers relating to land hiring fees.

Project Management Board leaders have said that one issue that has to be settled promptly is the power purchase agreements (PPA) contract between Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and PV Power.

The next steps are committing to a long-term power purchase and figuring out the pricing range for liquefied natural gas power generation. These represent the most crucial elements required for the projects to be implemented successfully.

Another noteworthy problem is the disagreement between the Project Management Board and the land leasing entity, Tin Nghia Group.

Before the Lunar New Year, PV Power issued a document stamped as urgent and sent it to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and relevant authorities, stating that Tin Nghia Group, the organisation in charge of overseeing Ong Keo Industrial Park, had obstructed the construction of the cooling water discharge channel at the park's intersection with Road No. 4.

PV Power submitted the proposals to look for solutions for these two projects. The investor estimates that a delay in the construction of these two projects will cause damage to over $541,000 per day for parties, including Dong Nai People’s Committee.

“These two projects are national key projects, which play a crucial role in ensuring energy security for the country. Thus, the province and the investor need closer collaboration to resolve the pending issues and to accelerate the projects,” said Minister Dien.