China Everbright International Limited has announced that, since the Group successfully won the bid for Can Tho Waste-to-energy Project in Vietnam in July, the Group has been actively communicating and negotiating with the municipal government of Can Tho, and has signed an investment agreement with the Can Tho Construction Department for the Project and obtained a project investment license issued by the municipal government. 

In attendance at the signing ceremony were representatives of the Vietnamese government, including Mr. Tran Quoc Trung, Secretary of Can Tho Municipal Committee, and Mr. Vo Thanh Thong, Governor of Can Tho; Mr. Chen Xiaoping, CEO of Everbright International, and Mr. Qian Xiaodong, Deputy General Manager of Everbright International; and representatives of the project partners, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Powerchina Limited. 

Can Tho is a highly market-oriented and dynamic city in the center of the Mekong Delta and is one of Vietnam's five directly-controlled municipalities.

The Can Tho Project is invested, built and operated by Everbright International for an operating period of 22 years (including the construction period), commanding a total investment of approximately US$47 million. The project is designed to have a daily household waste processing capacity of 400 tonnes and will be equipped with a 7.5 MW power generator. It is expected to generate approximately 60,000,000 kWh of green electricity annually.

The core equipment at the Can Tho Project will adopt Everbright International's self-developed apparatus, while its gas emissions will fully comply with the Euro 2010 Standard. The construction work of the Project is expected to start in mid-2017, and it is expected to complete construction and commence operations in 2018.

The project will be Vietnam's first waste-to-energy project which will utilize technology for the harmless treatment, reduction and reuse of household waste. 

Mr. Vo Thanh Thong said,

"Everbright International has decisively secured the Can Tho Project, having shown outstanding overall capabilities. The Project will be the first waste-to-energy project in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, as well as Everbright International's first environmental protection project in Vietnam. The Can Tho government has offered Everbright International the most preferential terms which will help the Project to be completed as soon as possible. The government has confidence in Everbright International's strength, believing that the Project will be finished as scheduled." 

Mr. Chen Xiaoping, CEO of Everbright International, said:

"China and Vietnam are immediate neighbors who share the same roots and have similar cultures. Both countries adopt the same system and their interests are closely related. In terms of livelihood initiatives and environmental protection, the governments of and the entrepreneurs in both countries face many similar issues, so there will be a lot of things of which they can learn from each other." 

Mr. Chen continued:

"Everbright International has developed a set of technological equipment and has cultivated management experience in the areas of investment, construction, operation, equipment manufacturing and technological development within the environmental protection industry for over a decade, and these are all ready to be shared with the Vietnamese government and citizens. The Can Tho Project marks an important milestone in Everbright International's development in Vietnam's solid waste treatment market, as it is the Group's first overseas waste-to-energy project; it will also be Vietnam's first advanced waste-to-energy project. The success of the Can Tho Project will open up numerous cooperation opportunities between the Vietnamese government and Everbright International in other business areas related to integrated environmental services. We will leverage our state-of-art technology, excellent design, advanced equipment, high-quality construction works and first-class management to develop the Can Tho Project into a green benchmark project for the Mekong Delta." 

Ms. Hisaka Kimura, a representative from ADB, said:

"This Project is very timely. ADB just launched a new country partnership strategy for Vietnam to support the country's Socio-Economic Development Plan 2016–2020 by fostering more inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth. Effective waste management has been one of key environmental challenges that Asian cities face. We aim to support municipal level PPP in Vietnam to address environmental challenges."