Soft power and hard power

Several enterprises in the northern region of Vietnam have decried repeated power outages after a region-wide electricity cut paralyzed their production activities. A representative of state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) said that power would be cut in the region by up to 30 percent. According to a representative of an apparel firm active in Viet Hung Industrial Park in Ha Long City under Quang Ninh Province, the firm’s production was in a turmoil due to unstable power supply. Power outages have forced the company to constantly run its own generators, leading to a surge in production costs, the representative said, adding that the firm might halt operations if the blackout continues. “Due to global economic difficulties, we have adopted various measures to secure orders to maintain work for over 1,000 employees, but massive power outages have prompted us to use generators,” said the representative. However, it is hard to lengthen the situation, the representative added. … [Read more...] about Companies in northern Vietnam voice outcry over power cut

Illustrative image (Courtesy of AFD in Vietnam) The European Union (EU) and France, through the French Development Agency (AFD), recently offered 20 million EUR (23.6 million USD) in aid to Vietnam to help improve resilience, water and natural resources management . On May 11, Ambassador of the EU to Vietnam Giorgio Aliberti and AFD Director in Vietnam Fabrice Richy signed an agreement to enhance cooperation to improve resilience to climate change and natural disasters in Vietnam, moving towards a “green future”. Under the agreement, the EU will provide a non-refundable aid of 20 million EUR for AFD. Via coordination with central and local authorities, AFD will call on the Water and Natural Resources Management (WARM) Facility to prepare and launch projects co-financed by AFD’s loans and Vietnam’s resources during the 2011-2029 period with total estimated capital of 200 million EUR. As planned, the WARM will back the preparation and implementation of more … [Read more...] about EU and France help Vietnam towards a green future

Cooperation between seaport operators is opening the door for more and bigger ships to dock in Vietnam, photo Le Toan In late April, seaport operators TCTT and CMIT got the green light from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to study a cooperation plan to develop a 1,200-metre long berth for mutual operation in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Nguyen Xuan Ky, deputy general director of CMIT, told VIR, “This means a lot to our collaborative project and is an important premise for us to continue to implement the next steps. Cooperation between CMIT and TCTT will bring better solutions for shipping lines, importers, and exporters in terms of berth flexibility, increased service quality, promoting business strengths of each, and meeting market demand.” In recent years, the Cai Mep Port area reported two-digit growth rate in throughputs. The number of mother ships docked at Cai Mep ports reached 33 per week, of which CMIT and TCTT received 14 … [Read more...] about Transport staples in need of funding

Accordingly, the PM requested that during the 2023-2025 period and subsequent years, the entire country strives to save a minimum of 2% of total electricity consumption each year, reduce electricity losses on the entire power system to below 6% by 2025, and decrease the peak load capacity of the national power system through the implementation of the Demand-Side Management (DSM) and Demand Response (DR) programs, by at least 1,500 MW by 2025. By 2030, the goal is to have half of office buildings and half of residential buildings equipped with rooftop solar power systems for self-consumption, without selling electricity back to the national power grid. By the end of 2025, the aim is to have all street lighting systems use LED lights. To that end, ministries, ministry-level and government agencies, people's committees of centrally-run cities and provinces, businesses and mass organizations were assigned to save electricity in workplaces, public lighting, lighting for advertising … [Read more...] about Prime Minister orders further saving electricity during 2023-2025

HANOI -- Two Chinese makers of energy storage systems and batteries are weighing investments worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Vietnam, industry and government sources said. The combined value of the investments could exceed $1 billion, according to one person with direct knowledge of the discussions. A growing number of Chinese companies are launching or expanding manufacturing projects in Vietnam, a global export hub thanks to its array of free trade deals and cheap labour. Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology, a startup that is expanding in Europe and the U.S., has approached officials and industry managers in Vietnam to potentially invest up to $900 million to build a plant on more than 30 hectares of industrial land, the person said. If the investment is finalised at that figure, the company would become one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. A second source familiar with the discussions said the investment under consideration would be worth at … [Read more...] about Chinese energy storage, battery firms consider big investments in Vietnam