Coal price for power to rise by up to 47%

The Viet Nam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group announced new coal prices for electricity generation on Wednesday.

The price of coal dust No.4B sold to power plants is set to rise by 47 percent to VND648,000 (US$34) per tonne, while that of coal dust No.5 will increase by 28 percent to VND520,000 ($27).

Deputy Director of the Group Nguyen Van Hai said that the price adjustment was for the group's reinvestment activities.

According to Hai, the group is investing in five new coal mines with an estimated capacity of 1.5 million tonnes to 2 million tonnes per year at an expected investment capital between VND2 trillion and VND2.5 trillion ($105.3 million-131.6 million) each.

The increase would also help the group raise miners' salaries, said Hai.

He said that the group was also considering adjusting coal prices for other industries.

According to the group's forecast, Viet Nam will have to import coal for the next three years and the group has set up a special team to prepare for import activities in the future.

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