The Government proposed allocation of more than VND2,526 billion (US$103,540,857) to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) from the reserve source of the medium-term public investment plan to expand the national grid to Con Dao island in the Southern Province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau.
In the afternoon session of January 8, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong submitted a proposal on supplementing the medium-term public investment plan with capital from the Central budget for the period 2021-2025 for several public investment projects and EVN to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.
In particular, the Government proposed that the Central budget allocate more than VND2,526 billion to EVN from the reserve source for medium-term public investment to bring electricity to the island.
In the report, it said that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved the project investment policy with a total investment of about VND4,950 billion in June 2023. Of about VND4,950 billion, VND2,526 billion will be taken from the Central budget and the remaining capital of about VND2,526 billion will come from EVN's own capital.
In November 2023, the Government reported to the National Assembly Standing Committee which allowed to report to the National Assembly about the allocation of more than VND2,526 billion out of the total capital of VND37,303 billion for the project to supply electricity from the national grid to Con Dao District in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province.
However, according to the conclusion notice of the National Assembly Standing Committee in December 2023, the National Assembly Standing Committee requested the Government to complete investment procedures as well as give additional explanation of reasonableness, and the foundation for the power supply plan which is used as the basis for assigning an estimate of more than VND2,526 billion to EVN or the Ministry of Industry and Trade to implement this project.
Mr. Tran Quoc Phuong explained that due to the increasing demand for electricity in Con Dao while on-site diesel power supply is not sufficient; plus, a number of diesel generator sets have continuously had incidents, causing a shortage of power supply for projects that are attracting investment for the island’s socio-economic development, ensuring security and national defense in Con Dao District.
On the other hand, according to EVN's report, due to the high cost of electricity production, while the electricity selling price must be based on the selling price on the mainland, the more electricity is generated, the more the supplier lost, and the accumulated losses become bigger each year.
Therefore, a stable and safe power supply for the power grid on the island is needed in order to meet the socio-economic development goals of Con Dao District, contributing to stable national defense and security.
Because this is a project with a specific nature, using both budget capital and EVN's own capital, in order to effectively use this capital source to ensure a stable and safe electricity supply for Con Dao district's power grid as well as contribute to the country's security and national defense, the government proposes that the competent authority assign the Central budget capital plan for this project to EVN.
According to the Law on Public Investment’s Article 82, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the agency that organizes public investment planning, registration and assignment of public investment plans for projects. However, EVN is not a unit under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, so the Ministry of Industry and Trade cannot allocate or assign capital to EVN, Mr. Phuong explained.
After verifying this content, the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee approved the allocation of more than VND2,526 billion out of a total of over VND37,303 billion to EVN for the project implementation to supply electricity from the national grid to Con Dao District.
