Sunseap International, InfraCo Asia to jointly develop solar project in Vietnam

SUNSEAP International and a Singapore infrastructure development and investment company will jointly develop a solar power project in Vietnam.

On Wednesday, Sunseap International - the global arm of clean energy provider Sunseap Group in Singapore - and InfraCo Asia Development said that they have signed an agreement to develop the 168 megawatt-peak (MWp) utility-scale solar power project.

The project is in the Ninh Thuan province, on the south-central coast of Vietnam. It is one of the first large-scale solar projects in the country, the two parties said.

The annual amount of electricity generated is expected to be able to power up to 200,000 households in the country.

InfraCo Asia will provide funding for the development phase of the project.

Sunseap International will continue to hold a majority stake in the project, while InfraCo Asia will take a minority stake alongside Sunseap's existing partner, CMX RE Canada.

The two firms said that during the construction phase, the solar power project will create jobs for more than 200 local workers. About 30 long-term jobs will be sustained when the project is in operation.

The project is expected to reach commercial operation by June 2019.

Lawrence Wu, co-founder and director of Sunseap, said: "We hope that our solar power project will help to promote more green energy investments in Vietnam and in the Indo-China region."

Electricity demand in Vietnam is growing 12 per cent annually.

According to the Vietnamese government's targets, solar power is expected to become the main new renewable energy source in the future, with installed capacity to be increased from around six to seven megawatt (MW) at the end of 2017 to 850 MW by 2020, accounting for 1.6 per cent of the country's power generation and 12,000 MW by 2030 or 3.3 per cent of Vietnam's power generation.

Allard Nooy, CEO of InfraCo Asia, added that the Ninh Thuan project will support Vietnam - which is reliant on coal - in creating a cleaner energy mix for the future.

"Projects like Ninh Thuan solar create a 'demonstration effect' that serves as a beacon for future development," Mr Nooy said.