Samsung C&T, Lilama win $940 million contract for Vietnam's 1st LNG power plants

HANOI (Reuters) - A consortium of South Korea's Samsung C&T Corp and Vietnam's Lilama Corp has won a $940 million contract to build Vietnam's first LNG-fired power plants, Lilama said in a statement on Tuesday

Under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract awarded by PetroVietnam Power and signed on Monday, the consortium will build the Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 plants with a combined capacity of 1,500 megawatts in Dong Nai province, the statement said.

Vietnam, which currently generates most of its electricity from coal, is drafting a new national power development plan that includes 22 LNG-fired power plants.

Nhon Trach 3 and Nhon Trach 4 will use turbines produced by General Electric, Lilama said, noting the plants should start commercial power generation between 2024 and 2025.

PetroVietnam Gas said last week it plans to test run the country's first LNG terminal in the fourth quarter of 2022. The terminal is due to supply imported LNG to the two power plants.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Ed Davies)