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State-owned coal group to double output
The coal industry has set a target of doubling output to 80 million tonnes by 2025, to meet soaring domestic demand, said General Director of the Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) Tran Xuan Hoa.
Hoa said coal was the primary fuel used by many rapidly expanding industries such as power, cement, steel and construction, and demand was forecast to rise in the future.
Demand for coal from the power industry alone would be very high, Hoa said, estimating that the country would have to import roughly 8,000 tonnes of coal by 2012, despite an annual domestic production of roughly 48 million tonnes.
Coal imports were anticipated to reach nearly 32 million tonnes by 2015 and up to 215 million tonnes by 2025, while domestic production was expected to reach 60 and 80 million tonnes per year, respectively, said Hoa.
Therefore, Hoa said, increasing output was the main challenge facing Vinacomin, the country’s largest coal producer.
He said coal producers faced difficulties exploiting domestic coal reserves, as open-cast mines were being rapidly stripped bare and producers would have to either find new reserves, or dig deeper, a costly practice.
Vinacomin would have to speed up investment in exploring new mines and improve the exploitation of existing mines, Hoa explained.
Hoa said the most urgent task for Vinacomin to implement was the exploration of new mines for exploitation by 2025.
Vinacomin has so far invested 400 to 500 billion VND (24.2 to 30.3 million USD) to exploit coal basins in the northern Quang Ninh province and the Red River Delta, where experts think there are reserves of 10 billion and 100 billion tonnes, respectively. The group expects to complete exploration of the coal basin in Quang Ninh province by 2010.
VNA
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