The construction of a multimillion-dollar solar power plant, the first of its kind in Vietnam, kicked off during a groundbreaking ceremony in the central province of Quang Ngai on Saturday. The site of the 19.2 MW Thien Tan Solar Power Plant project is located in Duc Minh Commune, Mo Duc District.

The developer, Thien Tan Investment and Construction Joint Stock Company, expects to spend nearly VND900 billion (US$40.05 million) on this plant, whose construction is scheduled for completion in July 2016. The plant will add about 28 million kWh of electricity to the national grid a year, according to national broadcaster Vietnam Television. An Indian contractor will construct the plant while Thai experts will be in charge of consultancy.

Equipped with advanced technology and equipment imported from Europe, the plant will operate without generating dust, wastewater or noise, Thien Tan said. The plant will be entitled to a preferential land rent and the exemption of corporate income tax during its first four years of operation, the company said.  Along with local officials, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and state-owned power supplier Vietnam Electricity also attended the ceremony. “Quang Ngai is where the country’s first oil refinery is located. Now the first solar power plant in Vietnam is being built in the province. This project is part of a new wave of investment in renewable energy in the country,” news website Dan Tri quoted Deputy PM Hai as saying. Thien Tan, citing deputy PM, said the project will contribute to the implementation of a national plan that electricity from solar sources will account for 20 percent of the country’s total output by 2030. Besides this project, Thien Tan said it is planning to build a 1,000 MW solar power plant in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan with a total investment of $2 billion.

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