EFD plans to build coal-fired plant in Vietnam

A US$4 billion (EUR2.8 billion) coal-fired power plant is planned to be built by the French power company EDF Group in southern Vietnam.

Photo: EFD plans to build coal-fired plant in Vietnam

EDF, known as Electricite de France, wants to build the 3,600 megawatt plant in the southern province of Hau Giang and intends to file a formal application to the Vietnamese government by the end of the year, said Pham Van Kinh, deputy director of EDF Vietnam.

Hau Giang is some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

The plant would use coal imported from other countries in the region, said Kinh.

If approved by the central government, construction would begin in 2009, and the plant would begin producing power by 2013.

"Vietnam's economy is burgeoning," Kinh said. "The country will need a lot of power plants to meet the growing demand for electricity."

Vietnam's electricity consumption has increased an average of 17 percent annually in recent years and is expected to continue growing at that pace for the next decade, according to Electricity of Vietnam.