Perfecting policies to attract private investment in energy

Yesterday (December 5), the Ministry of Industry and Trade held a meeting to receive and explain comments on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on specific mechanisms and policies for national energy development in the 2026-2030 period (discussed and commented on by National Assembly deputies on December 4). According to the Plan, on December 8, the National Assembly will discuss the draft Resolution in the hall; on December 11, it will vote to pass this important Resolution.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to achieve the GDP growth target of 10% or more in the coming years, the electricity growth rate must reach a factor of 1.3 to 1.5 times. Currently, the total power capacity of the whole country is at about 90,000 MW. However, to meet the requirements of GDP growth and digital transformation, in just the next 5 years, this total capacity must increase sharply, reaching from 190,000 MW to 254,000 MW.

This means that the scale of Vietnam's power source must increase 2.5 to 3 times compared to the present. This is a huge challenge requiring huge infrastructure and investment capital that current legal regulations cannot meet.

At a seminar on removing obstacles for renewable energy, experts pointed out the obstacles that have prevented this renewable energy source from being mobilized in line with the total power capacity and from contributing much to national energy security and the Net Zero journey. Accordingly, energy experts said that without a clear mechanism, market participation will be very difficult.

“Even state-owned corporations, despite having supportive policies, are still hesitant in implementation, so it is even more difficult to expect the private sector to boldly invest. To attract the private sector, it is necessary to loosen some constraints and create a clear and transparent legal corridor. Finally, for the market to operate effectively, there must be specific regulations to remove obstacles” - an expert who has “experienced” both the State and private sectors in the energy investment process affirmed.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance also said that the Ministry always identifies its responsibility in perfecting financial mechanisms, developing capital mobilization tools, adjusting tax and fee policies and credit mechanisms to create a stable, transparent investment environment in accordance with international standards to attract private investors to this special field.

Mr. Le Tuan Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Finance - Industry Economics (Ministry of Finance) said that Vietnam is entering a period of strong economic transformation, with a positive GDP growth rate and energy demand expected to increase by an average of 8 - 10% per year in the next decade. In that context, the role of the private sector becomes extremely important, especially in investing in renewable energy (RE), transmission infrastructure, energy storage and green, sustainable financial models.

Mr. Dang Quoc Bao - Deputy General Director of Trung Nam Group said that enterprises always want to develop and make positive contributions to the economy, especially in the field of national energy. In the recent period, opinions and recommendations from enterprises on laws and mechanisms have been received and recorded by management agencies. Many current Government resolutions have directly consulted opinions from the business community, helping policies become closer to the needs of both enterprises and people.

Resolutions on ensuring energy security as well as open directions for energy development have also been issued by the Politburo and the Government. However, according to experts and businesses, the problem is that "these directions should soon be concretized in legal documents, to create a favorable corridor for domestic businesses to strongly participate in energy investment".

In addition, it is also necessary to consider the problems that have arisen over the past time between renewable energy investors and electricity buyers, so that they can be resolved completely. This will create confidence in the business environment for investors, thereby attracting capital to develop the scale of power sources for the target of double-digit growth becomes more feasible.

At the meeting to receive comments on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on specific mechanisms and policies for national energy development in the 2026-2030 period, a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that many problems will be resolved through this Resolution. For example, the Resolution will have provisions on principles, bases, procedures and authority to flexibly adjust the planning to remove practical problems due to many projects that cannot be adjusted in terms of progress, voltage level, connection plan, load demand... affecting the implementation progress and synchronization between the source and the grid.

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