The
Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) has
officially raised its coal production target by 3 million tonnes to 43
million tonnes this year.
Of the total, domestic demand will swallow up more than a half while the remainder will be exported.
Vinacomin
said it decided to adjust its original production output to meet
increasing domestic demand, especially in the power, fertiliser, paper
and cement industries – the country’s four largest coal consumers.
This
year, Vinacomin estimated that the power industry would need roughly
8.4 million tonnes of coal, while cement makers would use 5.6 million
tonnes. The rest would be consumed by fertiliser and paper production
industries.
To meet the
new output target, the group said it had instructed its affiliates to
speed up coal exploitation and to get new mines up and runnings as well
as expand and modernise existing mines Vang Danh, Khanh Hoa and Khe
Cham.
In the first half of
2009, the coal industry churned out 20.3 million tonnes of coal, down 5
percent over the same period last year. Including stored coal, the
country sold 21.5 million tonnes, of which 12 million tonnes were
exported, Vinacomin said.
Vinacomin
deputy general director Nguyen Chien Thang said as of next year, the
coal industry would start to cut coal exports to meet rising domestic
demand, adding that the country would export coal only when domestic
supply exceeded local demand.
Thang
estimated that the country would need roughly 43.7 million tonnes of
coal next year. The figures for 2015 and 2025 would be roughly 61.4
million and 76.9 million tonnes, respectively.
To
meet demand at home, especially for the power industry, the country
will have to import roughly 25.5 million tonnes of coal by 2015. The
import figure for 2025 will be roughly 27 million tonnes.
Vietnam has planned to build 13 large-scale, coal-fired power plants in the next seven years to feed electricity consumption.
However,
there has been some concern that power plants in central and southern
regions would have to import coal so as to ensure production.
Thang
warned it would be difficult to maintain a stable long-term supply from
abroad because foreign coal producers would not sign long-term
contracts for large volumes.
Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Do Huu Hao said in the short-term, coal
for power plants would still be supplied from home.
The country could expect exploitation plans underway in the Red River coal basin to supply domestic demand in the future.
(Source:VNA)
|
