Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Cooperation (SMBC) morning today [August 12] signed agreements to lend combined $95 million to Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to develop the Vung Ang 1 coal-fired power plant in the central province of Ha Tinh. These are the last loans out of $1.2 billion that PetroVietnam needs to borrow for construction of the $1.7-billion plant, Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Dung said. Earlier, PetroVietnam signed agreements to borrow combined $904 million from five foreign banks of China Development Bank (CDB), Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Credit Suisse, Intesa SanPaolo, and Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC). Vung Ang 1 plant will comprise two turbines with a combined capacity of 1,200 MW. Its turbine 1 is slated for operation in July 2012 and turbine 2 in Jan 2013 to generate 6.7 billion kWh of electricity a year. PetroVietnam will use 2.9 million tons of coal dust a year tapped from the northern province of Quang Ninh to feed the plant. (Dau tu – Investment Aug 12 p1)
