Second turbines of the Song Hau 1 coal-fired power plant in Hau Giang Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Nguyen

Regarding power projects, the Government asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to put the first and the second turbines of the Song Hau 1 coal-fired power plant into operation in the second and third quarter of 2021, respectively.

Song Hau 1 is the first of the three power plants situated at the complex with total installed capacity of 5,200MW.

The Government also requested the ministry to ensure that the first and the second turbines of the Thai Binh 2 coal-fired power plant will come into operation by December 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.

The Thai Binh 2 plant, invested by PetroVietnam, has a capacity of 1,200MW and is expected to supply 7.2 billion kWh to the national grid once it comes into operation, playing an important role in ensuring national energy security.

Vietnam is forecast to need 131 billion kWh of coal-fired power, or 49.3 per cent of the total power production as of 2020, according to the Revised Power Development Master Plan for 2011-20, with a vision to 2030.

Transport projects

The Government tasked the Minister of Transport with taking responsibility for the progress of highway construction projects along the eastern part of the North-South highway, including the progress of three projects funded by the State budget and the selection of competent contractors. The minister will have to make sure the projects are completed by 2021.

The Minister of Transport and Chairman of Tien Giang Province's People’s Committee are asked to ensure the full completion and inauguration of the Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway project by 2021.

For the Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line in Hanoi, the Minister of Transport is assigned to report to the Prime Minister about issues related to its pilot operation before September 30, 2019.

Regarding the Long Thanh International Airport project, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for accelerating the verification of the feasibility report so that it could be submitted on time to the 14th National Assembly at its 8th working session scheduled to start in October this year.

In terms of the degraded runways and taxiways of Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat international airports, the Minister of Transport has asked the Aviation Corporation of Viet Nam to complete the repairs by the end of November this year and take responsibility for flight operation safety.

Regarding projects facing slow capital disbursement, the Government asked ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies, as well as leaders of localities, to accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital in 2019 and take responsibility for any delays.

These individuals and organisations are also asked to stop or withdraw capital from projects with low disbursement capacity.

VNS