Securing funding for the power project.

First and foremost, these are not only the first two LNG-fueled power plants built in Vietnam, but also the first to be invested in by domestic companies.

To expedite project implementation, in January 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular 20/TT-BCT, abolishing the requirement to sign a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) before construction could begin. As a result, although the PPA was only signed in October 2024, the project was completed and began commercial operation by the end of 2025. Under the old system, from the start of construction and the effective date of the EPC contract, it would have taken at least 36-42 additional months, meaning the plant would not have been completed until the end of 2027.

Another significant aspect of the Nhon Trach 3&4 gas-fired power project is the mobilization of loan capital, without the need for government guarantees.

With over $520 million in loans from foreign financial institutions (without government guarantees), this financing arrangement is considered a model by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh , who hopes other LNG power projects will follow suit. It is understood that, in order to secure loans from international credit institutions without government guarantees, and given that the PPA had not yet been officially signed at the time of loan negotiations, the investor of Nhon Trach 3&4 used several other valuable assets as collateral.

The investment implementation process of the Nhon Trach 3&4 gas-fired power plant project by Vietnam Oil and Gas Power Corporation (PV Power) - an enterprise in which Vietnam National Energy and Industry Group (Petrovietnam) still holds 79.94% of the charter capital - is also being closely monitored by many other investors interested in this field in order to learn how to proceed in their own way.

Many experts believe that some LNG power projects, where the investor is a large state-owned enterprise such as Petrovietnam/PV Power, Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), or a large domestic private enterprise, can still use other assets to secure foreign loans, or have an advantage in quickly signing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to negotiate loans. However, some foreign investors and other domestic private investors acknowledge that they will not be able to follow PV Power's approach in arranging foreign loans, because the common practice when implementing new projects is to use the project itself as collateral for loans. This means that investors must have a formally signed PPA with EVN - the sole wholesale electricity buyer in the current electricity market.

However, negotiating PPAs for LNG power projects also takes time. At the Nhon Trach 3&4 LNG power project, PPA negotiations lasted at least three years due to waiting for relevant mechanisms and policies to be issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Currently, while the existing access route of Nhon Trach 3&4 can be utilized, a new issue has arisen: the National Power System Operation and Market Company Limited - NSMO (formerly the National Power System Dispatch Center - A0) is no longer under EVN. Because the Electricity Trading Company (the entity that pays the power plants) and NSMO are no longer part of EVN, conflicts may arise between mobilizing electricity to ensure sufficient power for the economy and optimizing costs for the entire system. The consequence is that the cost of electricity production may increase and be passed on to the selling price of electricity.

In its latest proposal dated December 8, 2025, submitted to the Prime Minister and relevant agencies, the Asian Zero Emission Community (AZEC) also mentioned this issue. AZEC further proposed concrete solutions to address related obstacles in risk allocation in a fair and reasonable manner; and clear regulations on minimum revenue, transfer of fuel costs, and payment mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of LNG power projects.

The above story also shows that, if a new approach is found, some gas-fired power projects of domestic enterprises such as O Mon III and IV (Petrovietnam), Quang Trach II & III (EVN)... will progress faster than projects of foreign investors in the investment completion process.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/lo-von-cho-du-an-dien-d463611.html