Bamboo Capital Group, a Vietnamese private conglomerate, has kicked off construction on the Tam Sinh Nghia waste-to-energy plant in Ho Chi Minh city. The plant will be built in three phases, with the first phase facilitating the incineration of 2,000 to 2,600 tons of waste daily, accounting for 20 to 25 percent of the city’s discharge.
Statistics from 2023 show that Ho Chi Minh city produces 9,800 tons of domestic waste daily, reaching up to 11,000 tons during peak holiday periods. There are, however, no waste-to-energy plants in operation in Ho Chi Minh City–Tam Sinh Nghia will be the first. The facility will help to address the city’s growing waste management challenges while generating renewable energy.
In the broader context, Vietnam currently has 15 waste-to-energy plants under construction. However, only three facilities are operational, processing approximately 10 percent of the country’s total waste. Of note, Vietnam discharges roughly 60,000 tons of household waste daily, with an average annual increase of 6 percent projected between 2021 and 2030.
Notably, landfill remains the dominant waste disposal method in Vietnam due to its low cost but this could also suggest there is ample room for investment in waste-to-energy plants.
Furthermore, Decree 80, issued on July 3, allows for direct power purchase agreements between renewable energy developers and large consumers, which could spur further development in the sectora as well.
Bamboo Capital, trading under ticker BCG, closed on Monday at VND 7,900 a share. Notably, as of July 22, foreign traders held 0.98 percent of the company’s shares with the company sporting a foreign ownership cap of 50 percent.
See also: Electricity in Vietnam: Foreign Investor Cheat Sheet 2024