In recent years, the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 thermal power plants in Dong Nai, Vietnam have been facing significant financial losses due to delays in their construction. According to reports, these plants are expected to lose around 13 billion VND daily in interest and revenue from electricity generation. The progress of the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 Dong Nai Thermal Power Plant project was discussed during a meeting on May 9th, which revealed that the project has only reached about 85% completion despite being set to begin generating test electricity in May and commercial operation in November for Nhon Trach 3, and May 2025 for Nhon Trach 4.
The first of its kind in Vietnam to use liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 thermal power plants have a capacity of 1,624 MW and an investment capital of $1.4 billion. They are part of the national energy plan until 2030 approved by the Prime Minister in 2019. Despite this plan, significant daily losses of around $12-13 billion VND have been disbursed from the project’s budget due to delays in completion.
According to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, these losses are a result of three main bottlenecks that have been resolved: issues surrounding power purchase agreements, gas supply, and capacity release lines. However, challenges related to premises and land procedures in Dong Nai remain unresolved and continue to cause delays in the project timeline. To avoid further delays and potential risks to the project, Minister Dien emphasized the importance of addressing these issues promptly.
The People’s Committee of Dong Nai province and other relevant parties were urged to provide continued support for the project’s progress towards successful implementation. These thermal power projects are expected to add approximately nine billion kWh once operational; they will be assigned as investors PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) with joint venture general contractors Samsung C&T Corporation
