A coal preparation plant located in Vang Danh Coal Mine. Domestic coal producers are forecast to crank out 44.7 million tonnes of coal in 2023. (Photo: VNA)In his meeting with State-owned heavyweights on March 3, Minister Nguyen HongDien requested Vietnam Electricity (EVN), Vietnam Oil and Gas Group(PetroVietnam), and Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV) tokeep a close watch on coal supply.
He said under no circumstances should the supply be disrupted as coal is anessential mineral that thermal power stations and fertiliser factories cannotgo without. If a coal shortfall occurs, it will deal a heavy blow to theeconomy.
To keep coal shortages at bay, the minister urged the trio to act in line withthe governmental Directive No.29 and the ministerial instructions on theprovision of coals.
He also ordered that coal suppliers and purchasers comply strictly with thecontracts they both agreed to. Otherwise, they would be responsible for anydamage arising from their failure to fulfill the contracts.
He also called on the trio to find new coal exporters, especially those whohave signed a free trade agreement with Vietnam, to boost coal imports. Somepotential candidates include Indonesia, South Africa, and Laos.
Specifically, he called for extensive research into Lao policies on coalexports and the construction of routes allowing Lao coal transport into Vietnamat the lowest costs. He also suggested coal warehouses be built near the Laoborder to reduce mileage.
Vietnamese coal importers are urged to move into top gear to be well-preparedfor the import targets set for this year. The same goes for coal producers, whomust toil away to keep pace with their targets.
KTV and Dong Bac Corporation (DBC) are tasked with improving capacity to churnout sufficient coal for electricity generation. They are also asked to buildintermediate warehouses in the central and southern provinces so coal intransit can be temporarily stored before being reshipped to thermal powerplants.
The minister has asked the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Construction tocarry out regular checks on the corporations to ensure their construction workstake place as requested.
According to the Department of Oil, Gas, and Coal, Ministry of Industry andTrade, about 57.9 million tonnes of coal would be brought to the market in2023, of which 44.7 million tonnes would be domestically produced and 13.2million tonnes come from abroad.
Meanwhile, total coal consumption would run to approximately 57.0 milliontonnes during the same period, with 46.2 million tonnes being used forelectricity generation, 2.5 million tonnes for fertiliser production, and 8.3million tonnes for others.
TVK has entered into contracts with 22 thermal power plants and two fertiliserfactories to date. Under the contract, the first will sell 38.5 million tonnesof coal to the second and 1.6 million tonnes to the third. DBC followed suitwith a contract involving the sale of 7.6 million tonnes to 10 thermal powerplants.
In the first two months of 2023, coal available for sale hit 8.3 milliontonnes, slightly lower than coal consumption of 8.7 million tonnes. About 7.3million tonnes went to electricity generation whereas 0.4 million tonnes tofertiliser production.
At the end of the meeting, the minister called on the heavyweights to alwaysput productivity and innovation high on their agenda. He said they shouldclosely cooperate to deal with common obstacles more easily./.
VNA
