2020-12-30 00:00:00 | Japan funds Vung Ang II, despite climate vows

On December 30, 2020, Bloomberg Green reported that Japan has approved a plan to help finance the Vung Ang II coal power plant. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide USD 636 million for the construction of the project. The total amount of project finance is co-financed with private banks and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (see also the ''financiers'' section of this profile). This decision goes against Japan's pledge for net-zero emissions by 2050 and stricter conditions when investing in coal projects abroad.

2020-10-05 00:00:00 | Kepco proceeds with Vung Ang 2 coal power project

On October 5, Korea Power Corp. (Kepco) decided to proceed with the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant project in Vietnam. Kepco’s approval comes amid global pressure from environmental and investment groups calling for the company to halt the project.

2020-05-26 00:00:00 | 127 organisation urge Japan to withdraw from Vung Ang II

On May 26, Japanese NGOs submitted a petition for the cancellation of Vung Ang II to the Japanese public and private sectors. The petition was signed by 127 organisation from more than 40 countries. The recipients included the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), three megabanks that are considering financing the project (MUFG, Mizuho and SMBC), Mitsubishi Corporation, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Read more here.

2020-04-30 00:00:00 | ELAW finds significant problems with Vung Ang II's Environmental Impact Assessment

In April 2020, the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) published their evaluation of the 2018 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Vung Ang II. In this evaluation, ELAW found that the EIA does not align with international standards as it:

1. Failed to examine alternatives that prevent or minimise adverse environmental impacts of the proposed thermal power plant;
2. Used the wrong choice of an air pollutant dispersion model that renders meaningless predictions of air quality impacts;
3. Applied weaker emission standards for the project than those used internationally;
4. Allowed continued wet handling of ash contrary to international guidelines;
5. Allowed discharge of thermal effluent in excess of international guidelines; and
6. Erroneously dismissed potentially significant impacts to marine species.

Read the complete evaluation here.

2020-02-14 00:00:00 | New commission dates

The National Steering Committee on power development reported that Unit 1 is scheduled to be commissioned in Q1 2024 and Unit 2 in Q2 2025.

2019-12-19 00:00:00 | CLP Holdings quits coal

In December 2019, CLP Holdings announced that it will no longer invest in new coal-fired power plants and that it will progressively phase out all remaining coal assets by 2050. With this move, CLP is pulling out of all proposed coal-fired power projects it was already involved in, including Vung Ang II and Vinh Tan III.

2019-10-29 00:00:00 | NGOs call on JBIC not to finance the Vung Ang 2 coal-fired power plant in Vietnam

In October 2019, more then 30 NGOs sent a letter to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) demanding that the bank withdraw from financing Vung Ang II. Find more information and the letter here.

2019-06-04 00:00:00 | Completion date delayed

In June 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that the completion date for Unit 1 is delayed to 2023 and the completion date for Unit 2 is delayed to 2024.

2019-03-29 00:00:00 | Vung Ang II is going to use ultrasupercritical technology

In March 2019, OneEnergy reported that the Vung Ang II coal power plant is going to use ultrasupercritical technology, instead of supercritical technology.

2018-07-11 00:00:00 | Ministry of Planning and Investment refuses to grant an investment registration certificate

In June 2018, it was reported that REE transferred its entire holding in VAPCO to OneEnergy. This led VAPCO to apply for authorisation for OneEnergy to become the sole owner of Vung Ang II. In July 2018, the Ministry of Planning and Investment refused to grant an investment registration certificate to OneEnergy to develop the power plant. This decision was based on Decree 63/2018 which says that authorities shall not issue investment certificates for projects executed under the public-prive partnership model. Besides that, the Ministry found several issues in OneEnergy's dossier. Several conditions appeared not to have been met. First of all, the environmental impact assessment for the project was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment over two years ago, which means that the assessment is no longer valid. Furthermore, OneEnergy requested an area of 94.6 hectares for the project, while only 86 hectares had been approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Lastly, it was found that OneEnergy does not meet the requirements regarding investment and equity capital. The equity needed is set at USD 555.5 million, 25.4% of the total investment. However, in 2018 the equity was only USD 26.37 million.

These findings led the Ministry of Planning and Investment to ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade and OneEnergy to consider the opinions from relevant ministries and agencies and then develop the project in compliance with regulations.

2016-10-21 00:00:00 | The blacklist: Vietnam names and shames projects with high pollution risks

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced projects which it considers are potentially risky to the environment. In a statement, the ministry listed 28 plants which need “special monitoring”, with nearly half of them being coal-fired power projects invested by state power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and national oil and gas group PetroVietnam. One of the plants in the list, the 1,200MW Vinh Tan II project, grabbed headlines last year due to the environmental pollution it caused (source Vnexpress.net).