The administration of the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has given the in-principle green light to the construction of a multimillion-dollar LNG (liquefied natural gas) power plant on its Con Dao Island.

Norwegian LNG terminal builder GraviFloat AS has thus been allowed to conduct feasibility research for the US$45 million Con Dao LNG power plant, the administration said early this month.

The project, consisting of an LNG depot, a port and an 18MW LNG power plant, is to be located on Ben Dam Bay on Con Dao, with a water area of 10,000 square meters, and 13,000 square meters inland, according to a document signed on June 10.

The Bergen-based developer has 12 months from the signing of the document to study the feasibility of the project, the Ba Ria-Vung Tau administration said on its website.

The project is expected to be completed in two years after approval.

The southern province, known for its beach city of Vung Tau, had previously approved another Norwegian company, LMG Marin, to invest in a passenger and cargo service between Vung Tau and Con Dao.

LMG Marin is expected to use LNG-powered high-speed boats, capable of carrying 350 passengers and 400 tons of goods per journey, for its service.

Travel time is estimated at five hours and tickets will cost about VND440,000 ($20.2) per turn.

Passengers are currently only able to travel from Vung Tau to Con Dao via two boats, named Con Dao 09 and Con Dao 10, at a cost of VND200,000 ($10) per turn and an itinerary of 13 hours.

A district of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Con Dao is about 185km from Vung Tau and 230km from Ho Chi Minh City.

The island is known as a popular tourism destination with beautiful beaches.

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