Samsung C&T, Doosan Heavy to Join as EPC Companies
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) announced on Oct. 5 that it has decided to participate in the Vung Ang 2 power plant construction project in Vietnam.
The 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant is scheduled to be built in the Ha Tinh province in a national project of Vietnam. The total project cost is 2.5 trillion won and KEPCO participates with a stake of 220 billion won. Once its participation is officially approved by the Vietnamese government, Samsung C&T and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction will join it as EPC companies and the Export-Import Bank of Korea will provide loans and guarantees.
Earlier, the participation was almost thwarted as some lawmakers and civic organizations criticized the export of coal-fired power generation. The ruling party tabled bills late last month to ban public enterprises’ participation in overseas coal-fired power generation projects.
However, it was also pointed out that KEPCO’s non-participation would seriously undermine South Korea’s credibility with the bank already having promised financial support and affect Doosan and many other smaller companies relying heavily on overseas coal-fired power generation. In addition, energy experts expressed concerns over an increase in environmental pollution that would result from China’s participation in place of KEPCO. South Korean coal-fired power generation exporters employ ultra-supercritical pressure technology, which is characterized by carbon emissions significantly reduced to a level comparable to LNG. The OECD is currently not restricting projects based on that technology while implementing strict regulations on overseas coal-fired power generation.
The South Korean government decided to invest in the project in view of such points. “It is practically difficult for developing countries to cut back on coal-fired power generation right away,” the government explained.