TTO – The amount of coal imported for electricity production in 2020 is projected to be 12 million tons, and it will more than double to 30 million tons by 2025, reaching 50 million tons by 2030.
On January 10, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (TKV) held a conference to review its work in 2019 and outline tasks for 2020. At the conference, CEO Đặng Thanh Hải stated that 2020 is expected to see the highest coal consumption ever, while production levels will remain unchanged compared to 2019.
Global supply and demand for coal are also facing unfavorable trends for imports, making it urgent to increase coal production, especially for electricity generation. Despite TKV maximizing its existing mines, new projects have been slow to implement, resulting in historically low coal inventories.
Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng emphasized the importance of ensuring national energy security, particularly the necessity of electricity. According to the ongoing Power Development Plan VIII, coal-generated electricity is projected to account for about 20,000 MW and increase to nearly 40,000-50,000 MW in the next decade. Consequently, coal demand for electricity production is expected to reach 50 million tons by 2020, 76 million tons by 2025, and nearly 100 million tons by 2030.
“This indicates that we are falling short of domestic production and must import 12 million tons this year, 30.5 million tons by 2025, and nearly 50 million tons by 2030. This is a task set for the coal and mineral industry, which must both produce and organize imports to meet development needs,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
Therefore, he urged the group to effectively implement all tasks to ensure the 2020 plan, particularly to produce according to market demands, with various units participating in coal supply for electricity development. The group is expected to fulfill its coal supply commitments over the next five years, having already signed contracts with relevant units to proactively manage production, imports, and blending for production.
