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VietNamNet Bridge – The demand for coal is increasing sharply, and Vietnam may have to import coal as of 2015, according to the Coal and Mineral Group.
The Coal and Mineral Group has drawn up the strategy on coal industry development for 2006-2015, which said that the demand is increasingly high.
The consumption level will increase by 18.2% per annum in 2006-2010 and 8.65-10.3% in 2011-2025.
In 2006, Vietnam will need 18.8mil tonnes of coal, and the figure will rise to 31.8% in 2010, 50.7mil tonnes in 2015, 75.4mil tonnes in 2020, and 118.1mil tonnes in 2025.
The biggest coal consumers will be power, cement, construction material enterprises and steel mills. Power and cement enterprises alone account for 60% of the total demand for coal.
Total reserves of coal are estimated at 3,625,966,000 tonnes. It is estimated that Vietnam will be exploiting 46mil tonnes/year by 2010, 50mil tonnes, by 2015, 57-63mil tonnes, by 2020 and 59-66mil tonnes, by 2025.
With the increased demand, Vietnam may have to import coal as of 2015. The total imports will be around 3.4mil tonnes in 2015, 19.7mil tonnes in 2020, and 57.4mil tonnes in 2025.
Vietnam is now a big coal exporter in the world. The coal export growth rate reached 20.4% per annum in 1995-2005, from 2.78mil tonnes to 17.88mil tonnes, leading to the increase in export turnover, from $95mil to $658mil. However, Vietnam plans to gradually reduce exports and stop exporting in some years. Vietnam will export 12mil tonnes of coal/year by 2010 and 5mil tonnes, by 2015. No exports will be made after 2015.
Tran Thuy |