Ninh Thuan grants investment licences to nine solar power projects

The construction of the projects will commence in the second and third quarter of 2018 and complete at the end of 2019 with a capacity of nearly 500 MW.

Speaking at the granting ceremony in the south central locality on May 31, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Luu Xuan Vinh urged investors to speed up the implementation of the projects and ensure quality and labour safety.

They were asked to pay attention to generating jobs for locals and boosting close ties with the locality.

He said local authorities will accompany and create the optimal conditions for businesses as well as support them with land clearance and compensation.

Enterprises are encouraged to invest in renewable energy, he added.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Truong Xuan Vy raised the fact that 41 firms were set up in May 2018, raising the total number of newly-established businesses in Ninh Thuan in the first five months of this year to 197, with total investment of over VND5.2 trillion (US$228.2 million), up 12.6% in number and 2.1 times in registered capital.

So far, the province has counted 15 wind power projects and 27 solar power ones with designed capacity of nearly 800 MW and over 1,808 MW, respectively.

The Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade had agreed to include these projects into the national power development scheme.

Ninh Thuan is a typically hot and dry area in the south central part of Vietnam. It is less affected by storms than other areas in the country, and has become known as the renewable energy centre in Vietnam.

It holds good solar energy potential with average sunshine hours of 2,600-2,800 per year. 

The province is finalising a master plan for solar energy from 2016 to 2020 with a vision to 2030, which aims to generate some 2,000MW of electricity by 2020.