A ceremony was held in the presence of representatives from Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Quang Ninh People’s Committee.

The steam drum is a key piece of a coal-fired power plant, being the heart of the boiler which produces steam to spin the turbine and power the generator.

The installation itself marked a significant milestone in keeping the pace of construction on schedule, and completes the work on the boiler’s steel structure and the commencement of its erection process. It was also a massive undertaking, as the drum weighed approximately 230 tonnes.

David Stone, Managing Director of the AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited, the company responsible for the project said at the ceremony, "We are extremely happy to witness the commencement of lifting of the Unit 1 Steam Drum. There have been more than 3.5 million man-hours put into the work without any lost time incidents to date. We are confident that we’ll be able to complete the project on schedule, and that it will be a great contribution to Vietnam’s fast-developing economy."

The Mong Duong 2 Power Project began construction in August, 2011 and is about 40% completed to date. There are currently around 180 foreign experts and 2,350 Vietnamese people working at the site.

The project is slated to be operational by the second half of 2015 and will generate 7.6 billion kwh of electricity a year. After 25 years of operation, it will be handed over to the Vietnamese Government under the BOT agreement.

AES-VCM Mong Duong Power Company Limited was started by three shareholders, AES Corporation from the U.S. (51%), Posco Energy Corporation from Korea (30%), and the China Investment Corporation (19%). The project’s EPC contractors include Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries.