Delegates attend to the facility's ground-breaking ceremony on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Nhị

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU — Construction of the Thị Vải liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility began in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu on Monday.

Financed by PV Gas, a subsidiary of the national oil and gas group PetroVietnam, the facility will cost an estimated US$285 million in the first phase.

Phase one is slated for completion in 2022 with a designed capacity of one million tonnes. The second phase to double the capacity scheduled for completion the following year. 

The LNG storage facility is part of a series of gas and power projects that includes Nhơn Trạch 3 and Nhơn Trạch 4 gas-fired power plants in the Thị Vải-Nhơn Trạch area, said PV Gas General Director Dương Mạnh Sơn.

Sơn said this  facility and the two Nhơn Trạch power plants will help ensure gas and electricity demand for the south-eastern key economic zone.

Once completed, the facility can receive LNG shipping vessels with a capacity of up to 85,000 tonnes and provide 1.4 billion cubic metres of gas for the two power plants and other industrial customers.

In his speech at the ground-breaking ceremony, National Assembly Vice Chairman Uông Chu Lưu praised on the project, saying it is not only significant to PV Gas but also an important milestone in the implementation of the national energy development strategy.

Also at the ceremony, a credit financing agreement for the project was signed between PV Gas and domestic and foreign banks, under which the foreign loan is $80 million while the domestic loan is VNĐ2.1 trillion ($90.1 million). — VNS