It has also tasked the ministry with evaluating more carefully the capability of the national grid to prevent the problem of energy oversupply and make needed changes to the proposed Power Development Master Plan VIII.

One example is that the plan proposes to have 167,000 megawatts of generation capacity nationwide by 2030 while maximum demand is projected at 86,500 megawatts, it said.

Commenting on the draft plan, national power utility, Vietnam Electricity (EVN), said that the large amount of planned renewable energy could pose challenges if grid infrastructure is not upgraded as well.

EVN has proposed that the plan provide more specifics on the ratio of electricity imports and the imports of liquefied natural gas and coal.

For its part, oil and gas giant Petrovietnam has proposed that the plan includes a large-scale planning for LNG plants and position them near existing ports.

The draft master plan projects a price tag of $320 billion for Vietnam to develop the country’s energy sector for the 2021-2045 period. It forecasts an average annual growth rate of 8.6 percent in 2021-2025 and 7.2 percent in 2026-2030.