BANGKOK, NNA – Major Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. will build a new gas-fired power plant in Thailand to meet growing needs for electricity in the Southeast Asian country.
Mitsui said in a statement on Monday that a joint venture between Mitsui and Thai private power firm Gulf Energy Development Co. will run the 2,500-megawatt power plant in Rayong Province, southeast of the capital.
The Japanese firm holds a 30 percent stake in the joint venture, Gulf PD Co.
Construction of the 50 billion baht ($1.6 billion) plant will begin in July 2020.
Mitsui said the power plant will start supplying electricity to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand in 2023 for 25 years.
The government-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation is providing project financing for some $208 million, Mitsui said, adding the loan is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. and other banks covering some $1.36 billion.
Separately, Mitsui and Gulf Energy have jointly started construction of another 2,500-megawatt gas-fired power plant in the eastern province of Chonburi. This plant will become fully operational in October 2022. (NNA/Kyodo)
