According to the plan approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Hau River Power Center which will comprise three plants in Hau Giang Province with a total capacity of around 5,200 megawatts, more than twice the designed capacity of Son La, currently the nation's largest power plant that is scheduled to start operating by the end of the year.

Other facilities to be built at the power complex include a dock to receive 3,000 dead weight tons (DWT) vessels to transport tools, another to export gymsum, a dock of 1,000 DWT for limestone and two of 3,000 DWT for discharging ash slag.

PetroVietnam will then build the first plant with around US$1.5 billion in 2011 and put it into operation in 2015. The plant will be fueled by imported coal and cooled by water from the Hau River.

The complex is expected to provide power to the southern region and contribute to the national power network. Work on the complex will be divided in three stages and the total investment has not been announced.

PetroVietnam is building many other hydropower and thermal power plants, including a 1,100-megawatt plant in Laos. (Thanhniennews.com)