Coc San Hydro Power Project

Between 1999 to 2016, Viet Nam enacted the Renewable Energy Action Plan (REAP) together with additional legislation to regulate a number of specific areas concerning renewable energy. However, market participation remained low and the Coc San plant faced challenges in financing due to this low participation. This project developed by Asiatic Group (Holdings) Ltd through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Colben Energy Holdings (Vietnam) Ltd and two Vietnamese investors, but was suspended after approximately 15% of the construction was completed due to the Project Company’s inability to access additional equity and debt financing on account of the structural issues affecting the Project and the macro-economic environment existing in Viet Nam. PIDG – through InfraCo – partnered with the project in 2012, achieving financial close in 2014.

PIDG supported the project with equity and technical assistance, together with project development expertise. In 2016, the Coc San Hydro Power Plant achieved commercial operations adding 29.7 MW of new, clean capacity to the region’s power grid.  

InfraCo’s participation enabled the project to be developed despite Vietnam’s economic challenges at the time. The Coc San Hydropower Project has been operating reliably since 29 April 2016 and sells power to Northern Power Corporation (a subsidiary of Vietnam Electricity (EVN)) under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement under the Avoided Cost Tariff regime.  Long-term financing is in place with a local bank, which benefits from the support of the World Bank’s Renewable Energy Development Project. 

InfraCo divested its shareholding in the Coc San Hydro Power project to TEPCO in November 2018, successfully completing a full cycle of developing, investing in, bringing to commercial operation and fully exiting the project.