ADB Provides $186M Loan to Solar Power Project in Vietnam Phu Yen

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on October 9 signed a loan worth $186 million with Phu Yen TTP JSC to develop and operate a solar power plant, with a capacity of 257 megawatts (MW), in Vietnam’s central province of Phu Yen, local media reported. The financing comprises a $27.9 million loan from ADB, a $148.8 million syndicated loan funded by commercial banks with ADB as lender of record, and a $9.3 million loan from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). The solar farm, owned by Thailand-headquartered B.Grimm Power Public Company Limited and Truong Thanh Vietnam Group JSC (TTVN), is the largest single operating solar power plant in Vietnam and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. The solar power plant is expected to help reduce 123,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually while serving the electricity demand of Quang Ngai province and Nha Trang city (of Khanh Hoa province) in central Vietnam, as well as surrounding areas in a region that is emerging as one of Vietnam’s key tourist centers. There were 102 solar power plants under operation in Vietnam as of September, with a total capacity of 6,300 megawatts peak (MWp), said state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN), adding that the solar power production surged nearly three times y/y to 6.39 billion kilowatts per hour (kWh) in the first eight months of this year. (BNews, VietnamBiz, Bao Chinh Phu, cand, cmsbhq.Hai Quan, Dan Viet, Tuoi Tre, VietnamNews, NDH, CafeF, Vietnam Finance, VnExpress, adb)