From the "3 no's" construction site to revenue of nearly 1,000 billion VND
Savan 1 wind power plant is located in Savannakhet province (Laos), invested by T&T Group with a total capital of about 768 million USD, design scale of 495 MW. Phase 1 has a capacity of 300 MW, including 48 wind turbines, supplying about 0.9 billion kWh of electricity per year to Vietnam.
After nearly 7 months of COD, Savan 1 achieved revenue of about 36.5 million USD (nearly 1,000 billion VND). Behind this result is a synchronous preparation process from the beginning, when T&T Group not only built the plant but also invested in a 220 kV transmission line to bring electricity from Savannakhet to the connection point in Lao Bao (Quang Tri).
For large-scale wind power projects, if the transmission or connection system is delayed, the commercial power generation time will be postponed. Therefore, immediately after receiving the concession contract from the Lao Government in early 2025, T&T Group simultaneously deployed many items, from plants, transmission lines to equipment transport infrastructure, helping to avoid the situation where the plant is completed but cannot generate electricity.
The construction process took place in particularly harsh conditions. The team of engineers had to work for many months on the Savannakhet plateau in "3 no" conditions: No clean water, no phone signal and no temporary accommodation.
From the determination to bring the project to completion on schedule, more than 27 km of access roads were newly opened, 45 km of internal roads were built, and Tangatay bridge, more than 80m long, replaced the spillway that was frequently cut off in the rainy season. These are infrastructures that do not directly generate electricity but play a decisive role in the project operating on schedule.
In just 12 months, the nearly 70 km long 220 kV power line was completed. Four months later, the entire phase 1 of 300 MW capacity officially went into commercial operation - a rare progress for a large-scale cross-border renewable energy project.
Not only economically significant, Savan 1 also contributes to realizing the goal of increasing electricity imports under the Energy Cooperation Agreement between Vietnam and Laos, while affirming the increasing role of the private economic sector in inter-national infrastructure projects.
More than the 36.5 million USD figure
When engineers paved the way to the construction site, built Tangatay bridge, or tried to bring long-distance convoys through the rainy season, their only goal was to bring the project to completion on schedule. Less than two years later, 48 wind turbines operated stably, generating electricity and tens of millions of USD in revenue from Laos.
According to calculations, phase 1 of the plant can bring in about 62.5 million USD in revenue per year. When the entire project with a capacity of 495 MW is completed, the expected revenue will increase to about 97.3 million USD/year, and at the same time supply about 1.4 billion kWh of electricity per year to the Vietnamese power system.
More importantly, these figures mark the time when the project moves from the investment phase to creating cash flow - a decisive turning point for infrastructure projects with long capital cycles.
Right from the preparation stage, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) participated in arranging finance for Savan 1. When the factory went into operation and generated revenue, stable cash flow gradually formed, contributing to ensuring capital recovery capacity, strengthening the confidence of credit institutions and creating room for subsequent investments.
A link in T&T Group's infrastructure strategy
Savan 1's nearly 37 million USD revenue is not only the result of a wind power project but is also seen as a signal that T&T Group's infrastructure investment portfolio is entering the exploitation phase.
In the energy sector, Savan 1 is a link in the strategy of developing wind power, solar power, LNG gas power and new energy sources, aiming to increase the total scale of power sources to 25-30 GW by 2035.
In the field of transportation, projects such as the Bao Loc - Lien Khuong expressway, Ring Road 4 - Capital Region will become infrastructure assets creating cash flow in the future. Quang Tri Airport is also being accelerated to be ready for operation by the end of this year.
In logistics, T&T Group cooperates with Singaporean partners to develop Vietnam SuperPort - the first superport belonging to the ASEAN Smart Logistics Network, expected to meet the needs of high-tech industries such as semiconductor and electronics.
In parallel with that, many urban projects in localities are also entering the business stage. When connected to the transportation, aviation, logistics and energy systems, these components create a complementary infrastructure ecosystem, improving exploitation efficiency.
According to the orientation of businessman Do Quang Hien, T&T Group chooses to invest in long-term strategic infrastructure projects, accepting large capital requirements to create valuable assets to be exploited for decades.
As more and more projects go into operation, cash flow from existing assets will continue to be reinvested in new projects, forming a development cycle, in which capital is converted into infrastructure, infrastructure creates value and value continues to become a resource for subsequent investment cycles.
From a "3 no" construction site in the Savannakhet plateau, Savan 1 has become a revenue-generating project of tens of millions of USD after only a few months of operation. The wind turbines are still rotating steadily in Laos, not only generating electricity but also opening the commercial exploitation phase of an infrastructure project built with a long-term investment strategy and determination to overcome harsh construction conditions.
