PM 08:41' 05/01/2007 (GMT+7). Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked ministries, sectors and localities to solve pending issues related to construction of the Son La Hydro-electric Power Plant, including resettlement of local people and budget estimates, to ensure the project will be completed on schedule.

“The country will lose half a billion US dollars a year if construction of the project falls behind schedule,” said Mr Dung during his working session with the National Steering Committee for the Son La Hydro-electric Power Plant in Hanoi on January 3.

He noted that the plant is a very important project as it will not only supply a great volume of electricity to the country but also help improve the production structure and the living conditions of ethnic groups in the northwestern region.

“We must do our best with the highest sense of responsibility to ensure the project will be completed on schedule, meeting technical specifications,” said Mr Dung.

The PM praised the project management board, investors, ministries and localities for their close coordination in recent months and urged them to speed up the construction tempo so that the first turbine group of the plant will generate power by 2010. He asked Dien Bien, Son La and Lai Chau provinces to finalise their detailed plans for resettling people and ensuring the adequate supply of water and electricity to local people in new resettlement areas. It was reported that more than 3,700 out of a total of 19,700 households have moved to resettlement areas.

He also asked these provinces and relevant ministries to make budget estimates for sub-projects to be submitted to the Government and the National Assembly for early consideration and approval.

The VND 40 trillion plant is expected to generate 10 billion kWh per year once it is put into operation by 2012.

At another meeting with the State Steering Committee for key national projects on January 3, PM Dung asked relevant ministries, agencies and project management boards to strictly monitor the progress of key projects such as the Dung Quat Oil Refinery No 1, the Ca Mau gas-power-fertilizer project, the Nhon Trach gas-power project and the Nghi Son oil refinery complex.

Regarding the Dung Quat oil refinery plant, he asked the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petro Vietnam) to go ahead with the project.

The PM assigned the Minister of Planning and Investment to guide activities of the management board of the Dung Quat economic zone. He asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to be responsible for approving, reporting and evaluating the Nhon Trach 1 Thermo Power Plant’s impacts on the surrounding environment.

PM Dung also asked the PetroVietnam to hold VietsovPetro to account for slow implementation of the Ca Mau gas-power-fertilizer project. To ensure timely construction of the fertilizer plant in the complex, he agreed to put the project out to tender.

(Source: ND)