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Vietnam's first alumina plant opening delayed further
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
Operators have again delayed the opening of the Tan Rai alumina plant in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong for an undetermined period of time.
Before this latest delay for the country’s first-ever alumina plant, the facility was supposed to go into operation on November 1.
“The alumina plant is the core of the whole complex, and its operation depends greatly on satellite projects such as the power plants, the ore mine, and the red mud lake,” Tan Rai management board director Phan Boi Loi told Tuoi Tre in explaining the delay.
Loi said the satellite facilities are basically completed, but their operations are unstable and unsynchronized.
The two power plants, whose capacity is 15MW each, failed to ensure their capacity during the pilot operating periods, while the conveyor belts to load ore are obstructed because the material got wet due to heavy rain, he elaborated.
Meanwhile, the lake used to store red mud is pending final inspection from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, he added.
“We need time to improve all of these facilities, and the plant is certainly unable to become operational on November 1 as scheduled,” he admitted.
Now the plant is “hopefully expected to generate the first batch of product at the beginning of December,” said Loi.
“We have to depend on the mark of time suggested by the main contractor,” he said when asked about the repeated operation delays.
“As producing alumina is a new technology, we have to rely greatly on the contractor, while they in turn have to depend on many subcontractors, which affects the progress.”
It has been rumored, however, that the delay was caused as the main contractor, China’s Chaleico, has refused to hand over the plant to its operator, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), as the latter has yet to fully repay their wages.
The project management director also said he has several concerns regarding the plant’s actual operation.
The complex has around 14,000 pieces of equipment and 6,000 different valves, so there is a high risk of unexpected damage and technical faults.
Before this latest delay for the country’s first-ever alumina plant, the facility was supposed to go into operation on November 1.
“The alumina plant is the core of the whole complex, and its operation depends greatly on satellite projects such as the power plants, the ore mine, and the red mud lake,” Tan Rai management board director Phan Boi Loi told Tuoi Tre in explaining the delay.
Loi said the satellite facilities are basically completed, but their operations are unstable and unsynchronized.
The two power plants, whose capacity is 15MW each, failed to ensure their capacity during the pilot operating periods, while the conveyor belts to load ore are obstructed because the material got wet due to heavy rain, he elaborated.
Meanwhile, the lake used to store red mud is pending final inspection from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, he added.
“We need time to improve all of these facilities, and the plant is certainly unable to become operational on November 1 as scheduled,” he admitted.
Now the plant is “hopefully expected to generate the first batch of product at the beginning of December,” said Loi.
“We have to depend on the mark of time suggested by the main contractor,” he said when asked about the repeated operation delays.
“As producing alumina is a new technology, we have to rely greatly on the contractor, while they in turn have to depend on many subcontractors, which affects the progress.”
It has been rumored, however, that the delay was caused as the main contractor, China’s Chaleico, has refused to hand over the plant to its operator, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin), as the latter has yet to fully repay their wages.
The project management director also said he has several concerns regarding the plant’s actual operation.
The complex has around 14,000 pieces of equipment and 6,000 different valves, so there is a high risk of unexpected damage and technical faults.
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