Provincial authorities are choosing to develop environmentally friendly projects

In late February 2018, the PM released a decision on adding two solar power projects in Ninh Thuan province to the national renewable energy development program. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) will complete the program with 18 ongoing projects in the province.

In addition to solar power projects, the Ninh Thuan provincial authorities have approved 12 wind power projects, while the other wind power projects are in the final sprint to begin generating electricity by the end of this year.

On January 20, the first wind power plant in Ninh Thuan - Dam Nai - in the districts of Thuan Bac and Ninh Hai was inaugurated. 

The 7.8 MW plant was built by TSV Vietnam and The Blue Circle (Singapore) with investment capital of $15 million.

On the same day, the two investors kicked off the second phase of the project which has the expected capacity of 30 MW. 

The construction is scheduled to be completed by November 2018, when it would provide 110 million kwh of electricity to the national grid.

The 37.6 MW Mui Dinh Wind Power Plant developed by EAB from Germany in Thuan Nam district and the 90 MW Trung Nam Plant in Thuan Bac are undergoing equipment installation to be ready to generate electricity in 2018.

Deputy chair of Ninh Thuan province Pham Van Hau said with the great wind and sun potential, Ninh Thuan is capable of becoming a clean power center for the country. 

Bac Lieu province has decided to choose shrimp farming and sacrifice a coal-fired thermal power plant which could have brought hundreds of billions of dong to the local budget. 

The decision by provincial authorities to reject the multi-million dollar Cai Cung project developed by a Japanese company has caught special attention as the amount of money would have been huge for the budget.

Analysts estimated that if the project was developed in Bac Lieu, the province’s GDP may increase by twofold and the GDP per capita would soar.

Tra Vinh province, for example, after accepting a thermal power plant project, saw GDP soar from 6 percent to 12 percent.

Duong Thanh Trung, chair of Bac Lieu, said even if the most advanced technology is applied, thermal power plants will have negative impact on the environment. 

Bac Lieu plans to develop hi-tech shrimp farming in the province. If it wants to develop thermal power, it will have to sacrifice shrimp. 

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