Mekong Energy Company Limited receive a Certificate of Merit from the Việt Nam Electricity for its outstanding contribution in ensuring power supply for the south on the occasion of celebrating 20-year operation of the Phú Mỹ 2.2 Power Plant held in HCM City on December 13. — Photo Courtesy of Mekong Energy

HCM CITY — The Phú Mỹ 2.2 Combined Cycle Gas Project has a place in the history of Việt Nam's energy sector as the first Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project awarded through international tender fully funded by foreign investors.

Project operator Mekong Energy Company Limited (Mekong Energy) on Friday (December 13) celebrated 20 years of operations of the Phú Mỹ 2.2 Power Plant with authorities and its partners at Thống Nhất (Reunification) Palace in HCM City.

Supported by EDF (France), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan), and JERA (Japan), this US$400 million investment was financed 25 per cent by shareholders and 75 per cent by lenders including the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Société de Promotion et de Participation pour le Coopération Economique (PROPARCO).

This project addressed several major interests for the country.

First, it reinforced the southern region’s generation capacity in the context of rapid economic growth.

Second, it used natural gas from the Nam Côn Sơn gas field located off the coast of Vũng Tàu City, contributing to the country’s energy independence.

Third, it was based on combined cycle gas technology, a cutting-edge technology featuring greater efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal-fired power plants.

The Phú Mỹ 2.2 Power Plant is located in the Phú Mỹ Thermal Power Plant Complex in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province’s Phú Mỹ District. — Photo Courtesy of Mekong Energy

About 70km southeast of HCM City, the power plant is located in the Phú Mỹ Thermal Power Plant Complex in Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province’s Phú Mỹ District.

After 30 months of construction, this 715 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant, equipped with two General Electric 9FAe class F Gas Turbines and one General Electric class D11 Steam Turbine, started commercial operations on February 4, 2005.

Representing up to 8 per cent of national electricity production in its initial years of operation and with 91 TWh generated over the last 20 years, Phú Mỹ 2.2 successfully fulfilled the mission entrusted to it by the Vietnamese authorities of providing available, flexible, and reliable electricity to the national grid.

Furthermore, Mekong Energy embodied the values of its shareholders, including giving priority to Health & Safety from day one, as teams led a continuous quest for technical excellence, while social commitment was a key feature of the project.

Pursuant to the BOT Contract, Phú Mỹ 2.2 will be transferred to the Vietnamese authorities on February 4, 2025, and Vietnam Electricity is assigned to operate it.

This transfer was anticipated and prepared for with care by Mekong Energy over many years.

Mekong Energy has implemented a demanding maintenance policy ensuring industrial safety while keeping equipment in perfect running condition.

Vietnam Electricity was closely associated with the last major inspections of the equipment in 2023 and 2024, with teams working alongside Mekong Energy teams to supervise the activities.

Several weeks of on-the-job training within the Mekong Energy operation & maintenance teams were planned for Vietnam Electricity teams to facilitate their future takeover.

Some of the 70 Mekong Energy staff members will be recruited by Vietnam Electricity to operate the plant in the future. For all employees who will not stay at Phú Mỹ 2.2, the company implemented an ambitious programme to support them in their career transition.