Trade off in supply chain management

The Hanoitimes – It is important to avoid stagnation during the transportation process of input materials for production and of agricultural products in Covid-19-hit-areas, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has said.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung instructed local authorities to soon clear the hurdles for the smooth distribution and sale of farm produce affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

People in Danang are buying farm produce from Hai Duong province. Photo: Quang Hai.

Over the past few days, the fact that Hai Duong province became a pandemic hotspot has caused difficulties for traders to ship agricultural products out of the province, due to strict anti-Covid-19 measures imposed by neighboring localities.

Under this context, Deputy PM Dung requested related government agencies and provinces/cities, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, and Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, to create favorable conditions for the movement of goods for timely exports and distribution.

“This is particularly important for input materials for production and agricultural products in Covid-19-hit-areas,” said Dung, adding it is important to avoid stagnation during the transportation process and  disruption to economic activities.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is tasked with promoting and expanding consumption markets for Vietnamese goods and products  both at home and abroad.

A report from Hai Duong Department of Industry and Trade revealed over 90,000 tons of agricultural products are facing sales stagnation.

“If not properly resolved, the issue could impact the supply chains and cause disruption to economic activities of multiple provinces/cities,” said Pham Thanh Hai, director of Hai Duong Department of Industry and Trade.

According to the MoIT, the main reason is that drivers from high risk areas are required to have Covid-19 negative testing result certificate, but health facilities currently only carry out such tests for people under quarantine, and not open for on-demand.

“Certain provinces do not accept testing results from private health facilities,” stated the MoIT, referring to the fact that the Hai Duong Center for Disease Control (CDC) was designated by Hai Phong’s authorities as the only qualified center for Covid-19 testing.

The MoIT also raised concern from the lack of a uniform safety procedure during the production and distribution of agricultural products from Covid-19 zones to other localities, leading to  conflicting measures from cities and provinces.

The Hanoitimes – LNG is believed to be a major source in Vietnam’s power mix capacity of roughly 130 GW by 2030.

Vietnam has drafted a new master power development plan in which liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be a major source of energy for the country with two-digit annual energy demand growth by 2030.

LNG is a major source in Vietnam’s power mix energy by 2030. Photo: PV GAS

Vietnam’s Institute of Energy has compiled a list of 22 LNG power plants with the first to be operational by 2023.

To make the goal achievable, Vietnam has planned to develop infrastructure capable of importing 8 billion cubic meters (cu.m) of LNG a year by 2030, including LNG from the US that has a widening trade imbalance with Vietnam.

The following proposed LNG projects in Vietnam will provide an overview on the country’s LNG landscape in the future, Reuters has reported.

1/ Thi Vai LNG Terminal & Nhon Trach 3, 4 Power Plants is located in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and invested by Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS).

Its capacity for the first phase is 1 million tons per year (tpy) of LNG scheduled to be completed by 2022 and to be raised to 3 million tpy by 2023.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) has approved a US$1.4 billion plan to build the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 gas-fired power plants in neighboring Dong Nai province with a combined capacity of between 1,300 megawatts (MW) and 1,760 MW.

The plants, which will use 1.4 million tpy of LNG, are scheduled to become operational from 2023 and 2024, making them the first LNG-to-power facilities in Vietnam.

LNG: PV Gas has signed master sales agreements with Shell Singapore, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, and Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore (GMTS), a unit of Gazprom, for supply of LNG.

Status: The project is under construction.

2/ Khanh Hoa Petrolimex Terminal Project is located in the central province of Khanh Hoa and invested by Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex)

The combined capacity of four power plants is 6,000 MW to be built by state utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN).

LNG: The complex has 180,000-cubic-meter LNG storage facility

Status: Petrolimex signed an agreement with Japan’s then JXTG (now Eneos Holdings) in July 2019 to compile an LNG & Gas Development plan, including the development of the complex.

3/ Ca Na LNG Power Complex is an EVN project located in the central province of Binh Thuan.

The first phase of the project is 1,500 MW expected to become operational in 2025-2026.

LNG: The complex will use LNG imported via a terminal to be developed at the nearby Ca Na Port.

Status: The project is available for investors.

4/ Bac Lieu LNG-to-power Complex is located in the southern province of Bac Lieu by Singapore-based Delta Offshore Energy Pte Ltd.

The power plant capacity is 3,200 MW.

LNG: The complex includes either a floating storage unit or a floating storage regasification unit with capacity of 150,000-174,000 cu.m and 35 kilometers of pipelines.

Status: Construction work on the US$4 billion project is scheduled to start in 2021 and the completion is slated for 2024. It will be the first large-scale LNG project to be developed by a foreign investor.

5/ Son My 2 LNG Power Plant is developed by US-based AES Corp in the central province of Binh Thuan.

The power plant capacity is 2,200 MW.

LNG: will be imported via the nearby Son My LNG terminal which will be built by PV GAS. The terminal has an initial throughput capacity of 3.6 million tpy.

Status: Memorandum of understanding for the US$1.7-billion project was signed in 2019. It is due to become operational in 2026 or 2027.

6/ Son My 1 LNG Power Plant is a project developed by EDF, Sojitz Corp, Kyushu Electric Power Co and Pacific Corp to be located in the central province of Binh Thuan.

Capacity of the power plant is 2,000 MW.

LNG: The facility is estimated to use 0.57 million tpy of imported LNG which will be transported via nearby Son My LNG Terminal.

Status: The power plant is expected to put into operation in 2027.

7/ Long Son LNG Power Complex is a US$3.78 billion project in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau to be invested by EVN and possibly units of Mitsubishi Corp and General Electric.

The power plant’s capacity for the first phase is between 1,200 MW and 1,500 MW once the facility is put into operation in 2025-2026.

LNG: will be imported via the nearby Long Son LNG terminal, which has a capacity of between 3.5 million and 4.4 million tpy.

Status: Authorized agencies are selecting investors.

8/ Ca Mau 3 LNG Power Plant is a project by PV Power located in the southernmost province of Ca Mau.

With an investment of US$1.51 billion, the power plant with capacity of 1,500 MW and scheduled for operation by 2026-2027 is put in a halt.

9/ US-Vietnam Joint Venture Chan May LNG in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue will be developed by Chan May LNG JSC, a US-Vietnam joint venture.

The power plant’s capacity is 4,000 MW.

LNG: Construction of the US$6-billion complex, which includes an LNG terminal and storage facilities, is scheduled to begin in 2021, with the first phase of 2,400 MW expected to come on line by 2024.

Status: Memorandum of understanding for the project has been signed.

The Hanoitimes – Lawmakers largely attributed severe floods in the central region recently to poor planning of small-scale hydropower plants.

Vietnam’s lawmakers have urged the government to thoroughly review hydropower planning nationwide for sustainable management following severe flooding and fatal landslides in the central region late last month that are largely believed to stem from poor planning of small-scale hydropower stations.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to make all-encompassing assessment of the investment of small- and medium-size hydroelectric plants in the north, the central region, and Central Highlands, lawmakers said at the National Assembly (NA)’s ongoing month-long plenum.

They demanded the removal of ineffective projects out of the National Power Plan by 2030.

Voices from lawmakers

Lawmaker Nguyen Thi Xuan. Photo: Quochoi

Lawmaker Nguyen Thi Xuan from Dak Lak province pointed out some consequences resulted from the development of these projects, including drought and flooding when the dams store and discharge water, legalized exploitation of timber under the guise of hydropower, transfer of hydroelectric projects to other investors after exploiting mineral resources.

She said the parliament needs to establish task forces to supervise the afforestation while the government has to increase funding the afforestation and add it to the socio-economic development of the mountainous areas and ethnic minorities in 2021-2030.

Lawmaker Phan Thai Binh from Quang Nam province demanded environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the government to ensure the safety of both hydroelectric dams and irrigation dams.

Lawmaker Hoang Duc Thang. Photo: Quochoi

Lawmaker Hoang Duc Thang from Quang Tri province attributed severe floods in the central region largely to the development of hydropower. He said hydropower-related deforestation has caused bare land, soil erosion, flash flood, landslide, and severe disaster.

The disappearance of natural and primeval forests has weakened soil water retention capacity, causing floods, Mr. Thang emphasized.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Leo Thi Lich from Bac Giang province talked about the safety of both hydroelectric and irrigation dams and the need of systematic operations among them.

Lawmaker Tran Thi Dung blamed the government for having no specific policies to remove ineffective projects that cause the disappearance of forests and disrupt the livelihood.

Lawmaker Vu Thi Luu Mai attributed tragic natural disasters to anthropogenic impact on the environment that includes changes to biophysical environments and ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources.

Well-known lawmaker Duong Trung Quoc pointed out the lack of long-term impact that small-scale hydro might cause for next generations in decades.

Pledge from government agencies

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh. Photo: Quochoi

Speaking at the NA’s discussion session on Wednesday [November 4], Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the ministry will closely work with localities to tighten control over existing hydroelectric dams and the development of the new ones.

He affirmed that the ministry has added to the national power plan no hydropower projects whose development implies the deforestation of natural forests while removing from the plan 480 hydroelectricity projects and 213 potential locations planned for this kind of projects.

At the parliament, Mr. Anh also highlighted the important role of hydropower in the country’s development, saying that hydropower capacity of 20,000 megawatt (MW) from 429 dams accounts for 37% of the country’s total power capacity.