The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has pledged credit worth ¥7.3 billion for a thermal power plant in Thuy Nguyen district, northern Hai Phong province.

A contract to this effect was signed by representatives from the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) group and JBIC in Hanoi on March 28.

The project’s investor is the Hai Phong Thermal Power Joint Stock Company, whose major shareholder is EVN (87.5 percent of the total capital).

With a design capacity of 600 MW, the plant will be able to generate 3.6 billion kWh per year, thus helping to meet the country's increasing demand for electricity during the 2006-2010 period.

Construction of the plant will start in the second quarter of this year.