SK Innovation said on the 19th that a consortium it formed with Vietnam state-run power generator PV Power and local partner NASU under Vietnam TH Group held the "Quynh Lap liquefied natural gas (LNG) project execution announcement and technology infrastructure groundbreaking ceremony" in the Tan Mai area of Nghe An Province, Vietnam.

The Quynh Lap LNG project is a large-scale energy initiative to build a 1.5-gigawatt (GW) LNG combined-cycle power plant, an LNG terminal, and more in the Quynh Lap district of Nghe An Province, about 220 kilometers south of Hanoi, Vietnam. The total project cost is about $2.3 billion (about 3.3 trillion won), with a goal to begin commercial operation in Dec. 2030.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Quy Nhon LNG Project Technology Infrastructure in the Tan Mai district of Nghe An Province, Vietnam, on the 18th (local time), key attendees including SK Innovation CEO Choo Hyeong-wook (second from right), People's Committee Chairman Vo Trong Hai (fifth from right), Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau (sixth from right), Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics President Doan Minh Huon (eighth from right), Nghe An Province Party Secretary Nguyen Duc Thanh (ninth from right), TH Group Chairwoman Thai Thi Huong (twelfth from right), Minister-Counselor and Consul General at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam Seo Won-sam (thirteenth from right), and PV Power Chairman Hoang Van Quang (fourteenth from right) pose for a commemorative photo. /Courtesy of SK Innovation

This project goes beyond simple power generation and is a realized case of the "specialized energy-industry cluster (SEIC)," a future industrial ecosystem model that SK Group proposed to the Vietnamese government. The key is to supply electricity produced by the power plant to nearby advanced industrial complexes and to practically support Vietnam's industrial advancement by applying a "Korean-style AI full stack" value chain that builds artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and more.

To make this a reality, SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won and other top management held multiple meetings with Vietnam's top leadership, including the party general secretary, the state president, and the prime minister, pursuing active sales-driven management. In particular, Chey personally proposed the direction of the SEIC model and helped foster local high-tech industries by supporting the National Innovation Center (NIC), building trust between the two countries and laying the decisive groundwork for winning this project.

SK Innovation plans to use the Quynh Lap project as a springboard to become a power company with large-scale generation capabilities in Vietnam in the future. Furthermore, based on continued cooperation with the local government and partners, it aims to grow into a global power company by combining next-generation solutions such as LNG, energy storage systems (ESS), renewable energy, and Small Modular Reactor (SMR).

Choo Hyeong-wook, CEO of SK Innovation, said in congratulatory remarks, "This infrastructure groundbreaking is a cornerstone for easing Vietnam's power shortages and building a high-tech industrial ecosystem, and a historic first step toward the successful completion of the Quynh Lap project," adding, "We will work closely with partners such as PV Power and NASU so that this project, which will become a core base for Vietnam's national energy security, can achieve the goal of commercial operation in 2030."

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.