During a reception for Senior Vice President and CEO of the AES Corp. Bernerd Da Santos in Hanoi on August 23, Deputy PM Dung spoke highly of the group’s cooperative proposals in the fields of energy and electricity development.
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Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung (R) and Senior Vice President and CEO of the AES Corp. Bernerd Da Santos |
According to the Deputy PM, Vietnam is a developing country so its demand for electricity is on the rise, looking to meet the needs of production and development. As such, it requires huge investment capital and modern technologies to meet the requirements of environmental protection and development, he said.
Dung said in Vietnam’s current power structure, over 40 percent of electricity sources are produced by hydropower plants, with the rest from thermal power plants. However, hydropower is already being fully exploited and cannot be increased, so thermal power will have to play a major role in the future, he added.
Coal-fired thermal power plants must use modern technologies, even those which are environmentally-friendly, and aim to ensure that they do not affect the lives of those living near project areas, the Deputy PM noted.
The Vietnamese government will also work out policies to develop gas-fuelled power and renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, to ensure sufficient electricity for the country’s growth, he added.
While appreciating the AES group's interest in power development projects in Vietnam, Deputy PM Dung assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant agencies to work closely with the AES Corp. to discuss and agree on specific content before submitting them to Vietnam’s authorities for approval.
For his part, Bernerd affirmed that the AES Corp. highly values the support and facilitation of the Vietnamese government for his firm in recent times, saying that the US government is also creating favourable conditions for energy projects that the company undertakes in Vietnam.
He also pledged to continue working closely with relevant agencies to improve the effectiveness of the corporation’s existing projects, as well as expand its investment in energy and new power development projects in Vietnam.
Source: VNA