Investment

Central Quang Tri province kicked off construction of the Hai Lang LNG (liquefied natural gas) Warehouse Center on January 15, which will be capable of housing 1.5 million tons of LNG per year in its first phase, and the Hai Lang Power Center, which will have a generation capacity of 1,500 MW in its first phase. The project covers an area of 120 ha and has total investment of over $2.3 billion.

Vietnam’s power system was the largest in the ASEAN region last year in terms of power capacity. Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has set a target for 2022 of commercial power output reaching 242.35 billion kWh, up 7.6 per cent year-on-year, and plans to begin and complete important power source and grid projects.

The “Building bridges for people’s livelihoods and managing local road assets” project, funded by the World Bank (WB), has had its capital adjusted from nearly $409 million to more than $423 million. The Prime Minister has approved a proposal from the Ministry of Transport to use the WB loan balance in the project due to the exchange rate difference to renovate roads in the three northern provinces of Lao Cai, Lang Son, and Nam Dinh.

Ho Chi Minh City has proposed holding an auction of land along Ring Road No. 3, to acquire capital for construction. The route passes through the city and Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An provinces and has total investment of VND83.3 trillion ($3.6 billion). After nearly ten years of construction, however, only 16.3 km has been built due to financial difficulties.

The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has said that two key projects through the Mekong Delta’s An Giang province will be prioritized for construction, including a route connecting National Highway No. 91 and the Long Xuyen city bypass, funded by a loan of over VND2.1 trillion ($92 million) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and to begin this month and be completed in 2023, and the Chau Doc - Can Tho - Soc Trang Expressway, with total investment of VND52.3 trillion ($2.3 billion).

As of the end of December, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) had disbursed VND37.171 trillion ($1.64 billion) of public investment capital, or 85.6 per cent of the annual plan. For disbursement to hit at least 96 per cent of the plan, the ministry will have to disburse at least VND4.4 trillion ($194.1 million) in January.