The contract was recently signed between Can Tho Thermal Power Company, a subsidiary of state-run Electricity of Vietnam and the consortium to build the plant in Mekong Delta’s Can Tho city.

The contractor will be in charge of supply, construction, and test run of the power block, including detailed engineering in addition to the boilers and main plant equipment.

It is scheduled to construct one unit of 330 megawatt gas and oil-fired power plant for power generation during a 36-month construction period.

O Mon 1 is part of O Mon thermal power complex worth $2 billion with the total design capacity of 3,600MW, including four gas-fired plants in Can Tho that would save around 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year compared to coal-based alternatives.

The 660MW O Mon 1 thermal power plant, with capital design of two generators, is operated by Can Tho Thermal Power Company and its first unit went on stream and linked to the national grid on a trial basis in 2008 while 720MW O Mon 2, 700MW O Mon 3 and 720MW O Mon 4 thermal power plants are expected to start construction during 2012-2015.

The consortium succeeded in winning the contract to build the power plant after bagging the $1.2 billion Thai Binh coal-fired thermal power plant construction project, the largest in Vietnam, in May 2012.

"With such achievements, we expect to seize opportunities to ensure competitiveness and win projects in Vietnam and Southeast Asian markets, where demand for power plant construction has recently been on the rise,” Daelim said.