Hanoi, February 27:

Vietnam has started building a $555 million gas-fired power plant in the southern Mekong delta as part of efforts to deal with its severe power shortage, an official sa-id. A Japanese loan will pay for up to 85 per cent of the 600 MW plant at Can Tho, southwest of the commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City, that is set to start operating by 2008 using the country’s offshore gas reserves.

The plant “is part of the 2,800 MW O Mon thermal power centre with total investment

of roughly $2.0 billion, the largest in the Mekong delta.