M'sian firm to build 20 biomass power plants worth US$600 mln in Vietnam

by **Cals** Thu 24 Oct 2013, 00:42

Business & Markets 2013

Written by Bernama

Wednesday, 23 October 2013 18:42

JOHOR BAHARU (Oct 23): A collaboration between Malaysia's company, CHE Group, and Hau Giang Power Plant Joint Stock from Vietnam, is set
to undertake the construction of 20 biomass power plants worth US$600 million in the Indo-Chinese country.

CHE Group Managing Director K.K. Chang said the 20 biomass power plants will use rice husks as its "fuel", with each one of the power plants able to produce 10 megawatt of electricity.

"For the first power plant, engineering work will start by end of this year. The plant's construction will commence in the second quarter of next year," he told Bernama on the sidelines of BioMalaysia and BioEconomy Asia Pacific 2013, here today.

Work to build the 20 biomass power plants will start in four phases and completed in five years, he said.

Chang said Vietnam's Hau Giang province will be the host for the first biomass power plant, while the other power plants will be spread out in six provinces throughout the country.

The equipments and machinery for the power plants will be manufactured and supplied by CHE's factories in Malaysia, he said.

CHE partnered European technology companies, Torftech Ltd from the United Kingdom and Germany's ERK Eckrohrkessel GMBH, to design a state-of-the-art system, utilising risk husks as fuel to generate electricity.

CHE and Torftech has also formed a joint-venture company, TORCHE Energy Sdn Bhd, to be the main contractor for the Vietnam project, he said.

"This is the first-of-its-kind power plant to be located in Vietnam, and one of its unique features is the ability to produce non-hazardous high quality ash," Chang said.

Asked on the funding for the project, the company's Business Director Chek C.C Chong said funds would be raised through bank borrowings and fund-raising exercises.

On CHE's future projects, he said the company would approach Myanmar and the Cambodian governments, to undertake similar biomass power plant projects.

The company would concentrate on developing countries as their prime potential clients, he added.