Australia-based Trisun International Development (TID) is seeking to build a $400-million plant to generate electricity from waste in Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City. The information was released at a conference on treating waste and producing electricity by using Plasma technology in HCM City. Gavin Holland, TID’s Technology Director said that the company would cooperate with some foreign partners to develop the project, which will be capable of treating 2,000 tons of waste per day as well as generating 1.6 million kWh of electricity per day. Around 45% of the electricity output turned out will be used to run the plant while the rest will be connected to Vietnam’s power grid at a proposed price of $12 cent per kWh, rather higher compared to current price of $.8 cent/kWh from wind energy sources. The payback period of the project is estimated at only eight to ten years because besides generating electricity, the plant will also produce other auxiliary products such as brick, building stone, soft stone, and metals, as well as can earning money from waste treatment services.
Tu Ngoc An, Chairman of Kien Giang Company, the representative of Trisun in Vietnam, said that Trisun would conduct a feasibility study on the project right after receiving permission from the metropolis, in a bid to put the plant into operation within 36 months of construction, creating jobs for 200 laborers.
Trisun Vietnam is considering setting up Trisun Energy Vietnam to facilitate the management, construction and operation the project.
After this project, the Australian investor plans to build a same plant in Hanoi and 12 others in other provinces and cities.
Plasma is a high technology using electricity to create electric arc at temperatures up to 7,000-9,000 Celsius degrees in order to turn wastes into gas, steam and ash into electricity. (www.thesaigontimes.vn [1] Feb 15)
