The Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group expressed interest in a project to import five million metric tons of coal per year from Laos via Quang Tri Province beginning in 2025 at a meeting with the provincial Party Committee on Thursday.

The intention followed a survey of the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone and the construction site of the My Thuy Deep-Water Port in Quang Tri’s Hai Lang District.

According to Ngo Hoang Ngan, chairman of the coal supplier, the central government tasked the firm with supplying coal to thermal power stations.

The company also announced its plan to process a portion of the imported coal in Quang Tri, while the rest would be transported to other localities.

The addition of coal imports from Laos and the mixture will put the firm’s total annual coal volume at 10 metric tons, Ngan said.

As planned, the imported coal will be transported from Laos to Quang Tri via the La Lay International Border Gate and onward to My Thuy Port.  

The central province is currently working on upgrades to National Highway 15D in order to accommodate the influx of coal.

The road is part of an economic corridor linking Quang Tri, Salavan in Laos, and Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand.

The coal supplier also proposed using 45 hectares of land in the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone to develop a system of closed coal storage, along with a coal screening, grinding, and blending system.

Le Quang Tung, secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said that the firm’s proposals would open a new door for the development of Quang Tri.

Since the start of the year, the province has imported 1.7 million metric tons of coal from Laos.

Such importation reached 2.4 million metric tons in 2023.

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