![Rendering of the Quynh Lap LNG power project in Vietnam’s Nghe An province. [Photo=SK Innovation]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/05/04/20260504114704384259.png)
Two large liquefied natural gas-fired power projects in Vietnam are moving in opposite directions. Ca Na LNG in Khanh Hoa province took a first step after signing an investment and project contract in April. But Nghi Son LNG in Thanh Hoa province has stalled after failing to attract a single bidder in three tenders.
Vietnam’s Finance and Investment Newspaper, an outlet under the Ministry of Finance, reported on May 4 (local time) that South Korean companies are now pursuing different strategies. SK Innovation has been listed as an investor in the nearby Quynh Lap LNG project in Nghe An province, while POSCO International has proposed developing Nghi Son and Quynh Lap together as a package. Vietnam’s LNG market is emerging as a new test for South Korean energy firms.
Ca Na LNG signed its investment and project contract on April 10 with Khanh Hoa province through a consortium of Vietnam’s Trung Nam Group and Sideros River. The project is notable as the first LNG power project selected through an international tender under Vietnam’s Power Development Plan VIII.
Nghi Son LNG, by contrast, again failed to secure any investor in its third tender. The project calls for a 1,500-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine LNG plant with total investment of 57.524 trillion dong, but tenders have repeatedly fallen through since 2024. In the second tender on April 4 last year, five foreign companies — including Japan’s JERA, Thailand’s Gulf Energy and South Korea’s SK Innovation — showed interest, but no formal bid was submitted.
As Nghi Son drifts, South Korean firms are looking to adjacent projects. SK Innovation was approved in February as an investor in Quynh Lap as part of a consortium. Nghe An selected its developer through direct negotiations rather than a competitive tender. SK Innovation has repeatedly proposed an integrated plan to link the two plants and share LNG storage, a dedicated port and a transmission yard.
POSCO International has taken a similar approach. POSCO International CEO Lee Kye-in sent a letter to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade in July last year, formally proposing integrated development of the Nghi Son and Quynh Lap LNG projects and selection of investors through direct appointment. The company argued that sharing infrastructure would cut costs and speed up the projects.
Local government policy, however, does not align with that approach. An official at the Nghi Son Economic Zone and Industrial Park Management Board said Thanh Hoa chose an open tender because multiple investors had shown interest for a long time, calling it a process to ensure transparency and select capable investors. Thanh Hoa is also maintaining a policy, based on ministry guidance, that each LNG plant should have its own dedicated port — a direct clash with the South Korean proposal to share infrastructure between plants.
Still, Thanh Hoa has signaled it does not intend to leave Nghi Son on hold indefinitely. In late March, it formed a working group to address obstacles facing LNG power projects in the province. On April 17, it met with Russia’s Novatek to gauge investment interest in three LNG plants — Nghi Son, Thanh Hoa and Cong Thanh — totaling about 4,500 MW, indicating it is also looking beyond South Korean capital.
From an investor’s perspective, the two projects differ in appeal. Ca Na has existing advantages including a deepwater port, stable geological conditions and nearby industrial complexes. Nghi Son and Quynh Lap face the twin burdens of infrastructure needs and heavy investment costs — a key reason South Korean firms keep pushing an integrated development plan.
Vietnam, meanwhile, designated LNG power as a core tool for its energy transition in August last year through Politburo Resolution No. 70-NQ/TW. Whether South Korean companies gain ground as stand-alone developers or through an integrated consortium will depend on how policy differences with provincial governments are resolved. Decisions on a possible fourth tender for Nghi Son and whether authorities accept the SK and POSCO integrated proposal are expected to be a turning point for South Korean energy companies in Vietnam’s LNG market.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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