Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has chosen the supplier of the main equipment for the country's first pumped-storage hydropower plant. According to Báo Chính phủ, EVN and the Voith Hydro Shanghai and Powerchina Zhongnan consortium signed the contract for package 01TB-BA in Hanoi on 26 October. The package covers the electromechanical equipment for the Bác Ái pumped-storage project in Khánh Hòa province. It is worth 4,462.603 billion dong and has a 51-month implementation period.
An international tender for the core package
Package 01TB-BA is the project's main supply package for materials and equipment, and the contractor was picked through open international bidding, Báo Chính phủ reported. The project is funded by EVN's own capital and by loans EVN arranged from Germany's KfW and the European Investment Bank (EIB), so the selection had to follow the lenders' rules as well as Vietnam's procurement law. The winning consortium was judged to meet the capability and experience requirements, and its 51-month schedule fits the project's overall timeline.
How Bác Ái fits into the grid
The project is part of the national power development plan for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050. EVN's Members' Council approved it with four generating units and a total capacity of 1,200 MW.
A pumped-storage plant works in both directions. Once running, Bác Ái will use power to pump water into storage during off-peak hours and release it to generate electricity at peak times, narrowing the gap between high and low demand on the load curve. It will also provide frequency regulation and reactive power compensation. For Vietnam's grid, that means 1,200 MW of capacity built to cover demand peaks, plus services that help keep the system stable.
Speaking at the ceremony, EVN deputy general director Phạm Hồng Phương said Bác Ái is one of the group's key energy projects and has been under construction since 2025, with close direction from the government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and support from Khánh Hòa provincial authorities.
Generation timeline
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Construction begins | 2025 |
| Equipment contract 01TB-BA signed | 26 October 2026 |
| Unit 1 starts generating | December 2029 |
| Unit 2 starts generating | April 2030 |
| Unit 3 starts generating | August 2030 |
| Unit 4 starts generating | December 2030 |
| Full completion (target) | May 2031 |
Source: Báo Chính phủ, compiled by KBVN+.
What's next
The consortium now has 51 months to deliver the equipment package. EVN says it is preparing a plan to manage schedule and quality so that the first unit can start generating in December 2029. The other three units are due at roughly four-month intervals through 2030, and EVN aims to finish the whole project by May 2031.