Ho Tram Strip signs $63mn power MoU

Tourism development becomes pioneer in cleaner and greener energy.

The Ho Tram Project Company (HTP) and the PetroVietnam Low Pressure Gas Distribution JSC (PVGasD) signed an MoU on June 29 that will see Ho Tram Strip in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province move to cleaner, greener and more efficient power within the next 15 months.

The $63 million (net present value) investment will be deployed under the build-own-operate (BOO) model and see a power station built within the existing central plant building on the company’s 164 ha resort.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and the plant is projected to fire-up for the first time in late 2018.

“With our signing today, we become the first tourism developer in Vietnam to fully switch to self-generated, greener energy sources,” said HTP’s Executive Chairman Mr. Michael Kelly. “This pioneering move sees us invest in a natural-gas fueled plant that will emit less than half of the carbon dioxide and significantly less harmful particulates and carbon monoxide than coal powered systems.”

Climate-scientists estimate that natural gas emits 50 to 60 per cent less carbon dioxide (CO2) when combusted in a new, efficient natural gas power plant compared with emissions from a typical new coal plant. They also note that natural gas from a modern facility that minimizes methane emissions burn significantly cleaner than other fossil fuels, releasing negligible dangerous chemicals into the environment.

“Our 15-year agreement will provide cleaner energy for our resorts and supply all of the requirements for the golf course and villas, and in the future can be expanded to include the newly-announced Kahuna condotel and future facilities including the second integrated resort, additional resorts, and entertainment amenities, including the forthcoming amphitheater and waterpark,” Mr. Kelly said.

“This plant will see a significant decrease in both our reliance upon Vietnam’s grid and our carbon footprint,” he went on. “This transition to our own power station via the state-of-the-art technology that PVGasD is deploying sees us able to efficiently use the by-product of electricity generation - heat - to supply hot water for the resorts, and also through harvesting residual energy it will supply us with cool water for use in the air conditioning systems.”

Switching to its own “Cogen” (co-generated) power system is set to revolutionize the way in which large integrated companies source their power in Vietnam. Cogeneration systems, also known as combined heat and power systems, generate both electricity and usable thermal energy. Instead of losing heat energy during the power generation process, Cogen systems re-use the thermal energy for a more efficient and environmentally-friendly power source.

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with HTP on a development that will power this project for decades to come with a reliable, scalable, and environmentally-friendly source of 7 MW of power together with 2,000 refrigeration tons of capacity for air conditioning and refrigeration,” said Mr. Do Pham Hong Minh, PVGasD’s Deputy Director. “This is the first project of its kind to be built at a tourism development such as this, and represents a pioneering move in the way in which enterprises are adopting greener sources of power.”

The Ho Tram Strip is the first resort complex in the country to cooperate with a Vietnamese company on such a power station and is leading its peers in technology.

The $63 million investment came hot on the heels of HTP’s Kahuna condotel preview, itself a $60 million commitment to Vietnam. HTP’s parent company ACDL, has current and forward-deployed over $1.1 billion in Vietnam to date.

by Khanh Chi