Vietnam said its domestic sources can only meet 65% of coal demand for electricity production next year, which means 26 million tons must be imported. The country’s main coal import markets are Australia and Indonesia, but it has recently signed a deal with Laos.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade assigned investors to diversify imported coal sources and buy to compensate for the amount of coal that Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries and Northeast Coal Corp. cannot meet, excluding Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) power plants.
Factories are also fully responsible for arranging legal coal sources and technical specifications consistent with the plant’s technology. This is to ensure sufficient and stable supply of coal for the plant’s operations at competitive prices.
“In any case, there must be no interruption of coal supply or lack of coal for electricity production,” the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed between Vietnam and Laos in July that would see the former import around 20 million tons/year of coal from Laos, depending on actual market conditions and needs of each side. However, in early December, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien requested Lao authorities to reduce coal export taxes and related fees to help decrease Vietnam’s import costs.
At the same time, Dien asked for Laos to accelerate investment, upgrade or support businesses in infrastructure systems, warehouses, and coal transportation to Vietnam.