The Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) and a Japanese firm have reached a US$2.3 billion deal to build a thermal power plant in Vietnam, the state-run South Korean company said on Friday.

The venture, an international consortium between KEPCO and Japan-based Murabeni Corp, is expected to establish a coal-fired power plant under a build – operate – transfer contract.

Each of the corporations will have a 50 percent stake in the power plant, which is expected to have a generation capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts by 2018, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The consortium will operate the plant for 25 years starting in 2018, a period during which KEPCO expects to earn $15 billion in revenue because, “the Vietnamese government has agreed to purchase all electricity generated by the plant under a separate agreement,” Yonhap quoted the company as saying.

The plant will then be transferred to the Vietnamese government.

The venture may secure financing from Korea Eximbank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, while Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is expected to be the main builder, according to Reuters.

"The deal itself marks a significant achievement by KEPCO as it was won in a competition against leading global companies, such as France's EDF group and Japan's Mitsui," KEPCO said in a statement.

The Vietnam order will help bring KEPCO's overseas generation capacity to more than 5.86 million kilowatts in 18 countries, according to the company.