On July 22, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long led a working delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to hold talks with the People's Committee of Quang Ngai on energy projects in the province.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long underscored Quang Ngai's particularly important role in the industrial and energy development strategy of the central region and the country as a whole.

According to the Deputy Minister, the meeting was held to review the implementation progress of energy projects in the province, discuss and remove bottlenecks, and agree on key tasks and solutions to accelerate implementation in the coming period.

He affirmed that Quang Ngai holds a strategic position in the country's energy development, bringing together major sectors including oil refining and petrochemicals, gas, power generation and power transmission infrastructure.

Under the revised Power Development Plan VIII, the National Energy Master Plan and the orientation for developing the National Oil Refining, Petrochemical and Energy Centre in the Dung Quat Economic Zone, Quang Ngai continues to be identified as one of the country's key localities for implementing large-scale energy projects. Therefore, the progress of these projects will not only affect the province's development objectives but also have a direct impact on the implementation of national energy strategies and planning.

Reporting to the delegation, Nguyen Thanh Man, Director of the Quang Ngai Department of Industry and Trade, said the province is focusing on implementing a number of key energy projects to carry out the revised Power Development Plan VIII while developing the National Oil Refining, Petrochemical and Energy Centre in the Dung Quat Economic Zone.

Quang Ngai is currently implementing 109 power generation projects with a combined capacity of 2,720.75MW during the 2026-2030 period. These include 75 small hydropower projects with a total capacity of 816.7MW, 15 wind power projects with a capacity of 676.05MW, 13 solar power projects with a combined capacity of 800MW, one waste-to-energy project with a capacity of 15MW, three biomass power projects with a total capacity of 43MW, and one pumped-storage hydropower project with a capacity of 300MW.

Regarding the National Oil Refining, Petrochemical and Energy Centre in the Dung Quat Economic Zone, Quang Ngai has developed and completed nine special mechanisms and policies under the authority of the National Assembly. These focus on four policy groups, namely finance and the state budget, administrative procedure simplification, land and tax incentives, and other investment and business activities.

The province also proposed exempting all land and water surface rental fees throughout the operation period of projects within the centre, while reducing personal income tax by 50% for 10 years for experts, scientists and highly skilled workers employed there.

To meet new development needs, Quang Ngai proposed that MoIT consider adding around 1,500 MW of utility-scale solar power in border communes and updating additional power source projects with a combined capacity of about 4,986.06 MW in the national power development plan in the coming period.

Concluding the meeting, the Deputy Minister acknowledged the efforts of the provincial leadership, departments and relevant agencies in organising a meeting that was conducted in a timely, frank and effective manner. The discussions clearly identified existing challenges and bottlenecks, helping define specific tasks for each sector and agency.

Regarding key tasks in the time ahead, the Deputy Minister urged Quang Ngai to take decisive action to effectively implement the revised Power Development Plan VIII.

Looking ahead, he said Quang Ngai is entering a particularly important growth cycle, with a series of mega projects set to be implemented.

These include the expansion of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Ca Voi Xanh gas value chain, including power plants, with a total investment of tens of billions of USD. If these mega projects are implemented in a coordinated and successful manner, Quang Ngai will have sufficient potential to become one of the country's leading industrial and energy hubs during the 2030 - 2035 period.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long also affirmed that MoIT will continue to stand alongside and support Quang Ngai in pursuing its development orientations.

At the meeting, Nguyen Cong Hoang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai, said the discussions had helped the province gain a clearer understanding of its development directions and priority tasks in the coming period. Quang Ngai will fully implement the guidance of Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long and the recommendations made by members of the working delegation, translating them into concrete tasks and solutions for effective implementation. The province will continue to identify energy development as one of its top priorities in both policymaking and implementation.