Nguyen Thanh Chi, Nguyen Tien Dung, Nguyen Anh Dung, and Phung Duc Long
Executive summary
Hydropower plant and reservoir
Son La hydropower plant
Son La hydropower plant is located on Da River, It Ong Commune, Muong La District, Son La Province, Vietnam. The powerplant has an installed capacity of 2400 MW with 6 generators. Construction started on December 2, 2005. After 7 years of construction, Son La Hydroelectricity was put into operation on December 23, 2012, and was the largest hydropower plant in Vietnam and Southeast Asia at that time.
Main specifications:
• Reservoir area: 224 km2;
• Total reservoir capacity: 9.26 billion m3 of water;
• Installed capacity: 2,400 MW, including 6 generators, each with 400MW;
• Average annual electricity: 10.2 billion kWh.
• Gravity roller-compacted concrete dam with a height of 138 m and the length of the dam crest of 962 m.
Hoa Binh hydropower plant
The Hoa Binh hydropower plant was built on Da River, Hoa Binh province. This is the largest hydropower plant in Vietnam and Southeast Asia from 1994 to 2012. Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant was supported and assisted in construction and operation by the Soviet Union (1991 to 1994, the Russian Federation). Construction started on November 6, 1979, and was put into operation on December 20, 1994.
This is one of the dams with the most complex geological condition in Vietnam. The dam is located on difficult alluvial soil river deposits including mainly cobblestone and gravels from the elevation of +18 mCD to the bedrock level of -90 mCD. The dam is made from rockfill with a clay core. A cut-off wall made by jet grouting with a width of 36m was constructed to retain water.
Main specifications:
• Reservoir total area: 208 km2;
• Total reservoir capacity: 9.45 billion m3 of water;
• Installed capacity: 1920 MW, including 8 generators;
• Average annual electricity: 8.6 billion KWh;
• Hoa Binh hydroelectric dam has 12 discharge gates and 8 generators, each has a capacity of 240 MW.
• Gravity rockfill dam with clay core with a height of 128 m and a dam crest length of 660 m.
Lai Chau hydropower plant
Lai Chau hydropower plant, also known as Nam Nhun hydropower plant, is a national key project of Vietnam. The powerplant was built on the mainstream of the Da River in Nam Nhun town, Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province, Vietnam. Lai Chau hydropower plant has a capacity of 1,200 MW with 3 generators, started construction on January 5, 2011, and was put into operation in December 2016. The powerplant was built on the top step of the mainstream of Da River, the upper step of the Son La hydropower plant.
Main specifications:
• Reservoir total area: 39.63 km2.
• Total reservoir capacity: 1215.1 million m3 of water.
• Installed capacity of 1200 MW with 3 generators, each generating 400 MW.
• Average annual electricity: 4.7 billion kWh.
• Gravity roller-compacted concrete dam with a height of 131 m and the length of the dam crest of 616 m.
Thac Mo hydropower plant
Thac Mo hydropower plant was built on Be River, located in Duc Hanh Commune, Bu Gia Map District, Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam. Thac Mo hydropower plant initially had an installed capacity of 150 MW with 2 generators, annual electricity output of 610 million KWh, started construction at the end of 1991, and was put into operation in mid-1995. In July 2014, Thac Mo Hydroelectricity started to increase the capacity by 75 MW with 1 generator, completed in July 2017, bringing the total installed capacity to 225 MW, annual electricity output of 662 million KWh.
Main specifications:
• Reservoir total area: 109 km2.
• Total reservoir capacity: 1360 million m3 of water.
• Installed capacity: 225 MW
• Average annual electricity: 662 million KWh.
• Compacted earth rock fills dam with the height of 50 m and the length of the dam crest is 610 m.
Da Nhim hydropower plant
Da Nhim hydropower plant is a hydroelectric project built on Da Nhim River, D’Ran town, Don Duong district, Lam Dong province and Lam Son commune, Ninh Son district, Ninh Thuan province, Vietnam. Da Nhim Hydroelectricity has an installed capacity of 160 MW with 4 generators. The project was started in April 1961 and completed in December 1964. The power plant is located at the top of the river, exploiting the hydroelectric potential of the Dong Nai River system. The project of installing an additional 80 MW generator, started in December 2015 and was successfully connected to the power grid in December 2018.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 320 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 240 MW.
• Annual power output: 99 million KWh.
• Operating generators: 4 generators.
• Gravity-compacted earth rockfill dam with clay core with a height of 56 m and the length of the dam crest is 430 m.
• Water intake tunnel of 5 km length from the dam to the generator with a working water column of 627 m height.
Nam Chien hydropower plant
Nam Chien I hydropower plant is a hydroelectric project built on Nam Chiem River, Ngoc Chien, and Chieng Muon town, Muong La district, Son La province, Vietnam. Nam Chien I was ground broken in 2005 and completed in 2012 with a capacity of 200 MW. The intake tunnel from Nam Chien reservoir to the power plant has a length of over 11 km with a water column of 715 m. The dam is a reinforced concrete arch dam with a total height of 138 m and a crest length of 273 m.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 154 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 200 MW.
• Annual power output: 791 million KWh.
• Operating generators: 2 generators.
• Reinforced concrete arch dam with a height of 138 m and the length of the dam crest is 273 m.
• Water intake tunnel of 11 km in length with a working water column of 715 m height.
Thuong Kon Tum hydropower plant
Thuong Kon Tum hydropower plant is a hydroelectric project with a reservoir built on Dak Snghe River, Dak Koi – Kon Ray and Dak Tang – Kon Plong, and a power plant in Dak Lo River, Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, Vietnam. The reservoir has a compacted earth fill dam with a height of 66 m, and a crest length of 279 m. The intake tunnel has a length of 17 km and a water column of 937 m. Up to 2018, this is the longest intake tunnel in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 146 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 220 MW.
• Annual power output: 1,094 million KWh.
• Operating generators: 2 generators.
• Gravity earth fill dam with a height of 66 m and a crest length of 279 m.
• Water intake tunnel of 17 km in length with a working water column of 937 m height.
Tuyen Quang hydropower plant
The Tuyen Quang hydropower plant was constructed in Lo River, Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang province from 2002 to 2008. This is the first concrete face rockfill dam and the fifth largest capacity in Vietnam with a dam height of 92 m, a crest length of 718 m, a reservoir area of 8000 ha.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 2,245 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 342 MW.
• Annual power output: 1.295 billion kWh.
• Operating generators: 3 generators.
• Concrete face rockfill dam of 92 m height and 718 m crest length.
Huoi Quang hydropower plant
Huoi Quang hydropower plant was constructed on Nam Mu River, Khoen On town, Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province. This is one of the main hydropower plants with a high installed capacity in the cascade hydroelectric project on Da River. The plant was ground broken on 2006, the stream was diverted in 2011, water stored in 2015, and connected to the national grid in 2016.
The dam is reinforced concrete with a height of 104 m, and a crest length of 267 m. The intake tunnel has a length of 4.2 km with a water column of 151 m. The total area of the reservoir is 2,824 km2. The plant is constructed underground inside a deep rock layer.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 184,2 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 520 MW.
• Annual power output: 1.904 billion kWh.
• Operating generators: 2 generators.
• Reinforced concrete dam of 104 m height and 267 m crest length.
Plei Krong hydropower plant
The Plei Krong hydropower plant is the first roller-compacted concrete dam in Vietnam. The dam was constructed on the Krong Po Ko River in Sa Binh town Sa Thay district and Kroong town, Kon Tum City, Kon Tum province. With a height of 71 m and a crest length of 495 m, the installed capacity of the plant is 100 MW. The project was started in 2003 and completed in 2009.
Main specifications:
• Total reservoir capacity: 1037 million m3 of water.
• Installed Capacity: 100 MW.
• Annual power output: 417 million kWh.
• Operating generators: 2 generators.
Tunnels
Hai Van Tunnel 1 & 2
National Highway No. 1 is the major North-South trunk line for land transportation in Vietnam. Hai Van Pass is situated on the Highway, peaking at 496 meters in altitude along its 21 kilometers between central Hue and Da Nang, playing an important part in the East-West Corridor in the country’s central region. This is also one of the most dangerous sections of the highway because of its narrow carriageway width and the nature of the terrain, and it is considered as a major bottleneck. Hai Van Tunnel 1 & 2 are built to bypass the long route over the top and officially opened in 2005 and 2017, respectively. They are the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia and Vietnam at 6.28 km, shortening the travel time from over an hour to about 10 minutes, and expanding the traffic network in the central area.
Main specifications:
• Tunnel dimension: two parallel tunnels of about 6,280 meters in length and 10 meters in width each
• Traffic lane: two lanes for each tunnel
• Design speed: 70 km/h
Deo Ca & Cu Mong road-tunnel
Deo Ca tunnel is a national key traffic work, recognized by the Ministry of Construction as one of the five typical national works on the 60th anniversary of Vietnam’s traditional day of the Construction industry. This is the first tunnel road project under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) using domestic funds of over VNĐ11 trillion (US$478.2 million) invested by Vietnamese investors and contractors.
The Deo Ca tunnel project has a total length of 13,190m, starting from Dong Hoa district (Phu Yen province) and ending at Ninh Van district Ninh (Khanh Hoa province). The Deo Ca tunnel is 4,125m long, the Co Ma tunnel is 500m long, and 8,565m of leading roads. The project started on November 18, 2012. After more than 4 years of effort and overcoming many challenges, by the beginning of September 2017, the project was completed 4 months ahead of schedule. After putting the tunnel into operation, the travel time through the tunnel is only 10 minutes instead of 45 minutes when going on Ca pass. At the same time, the traffic congestion and accident black spots on the pass road are eliminated.
Main specifications:
• Tunnel dimension: two parallel tunnels of about 4,625 meters length and 9.75 meters width each
• Leading road: 8,565 meters length
• Traffic lane: two lanes each tunnel
• Design speed: 80 km/h
Thu Thiem tunnel
Thu Thiem tunnel is an underwater road tunnel designed to cross the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnel was opened in November 2011. It links the District 1 with Thu Thiem new urban area in District 2. The Thu Thiem tunnel is part of the East-West highway project, which was constructed to ease congestion in the inner city, as well as from the downtown area to the Mekong Delta Region (Dong Bang Song Cuu Long).
At the time of opening, Thu Thiem tunnel is the Southeast Asia’s most modern river tunnel. New technology was used to build the 1,490m underwater tunnel. The immersed tunnel comprises four sections, each 93m long, 33m wide and 9m high, and weighs 27,000t. The sections have been fabricated at a construction site in Nhon Trach District of Dong Nai Province and are made of reinforced concrete with thicknesses between 1m and 1.2m.
Official data shows around 52,000 automobiles and 300,000 motorbikes use the tunnel every day. The tunnel is designed to stay for 100 years and withstand a 7-magnitude earthquake.
Main specifications:
• Tunnel dimension: 1,490m underwater tunnel, 33m wide and 9m high
• Traffic lane: four auto and two motorbike lanes
• Design speed: 60 km/h
Ho Chi Minh metro line 1
To reduce pressure on the transportation system of Ho Chi Minh (HCM) city, the HCM metro line 1 project was started in 2012. This project is the state-of-the-art metro line built in Vietnam with 19.7 km length comprising 2.6 km underground under density areas. The tunnel was finished in 2019; Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with the Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) method was used for tunnelling from 11 to 30 meters depth.
To ensure the strict settlement criteria when tunnelling through soft soil underneath residential and historical buildings, jet grouting walls were constructed with a total of 239 jet grouting holes of 1400 to 3500 mm diameter.
Main specifications:
• 14 stations, of which 3 underground and 11 elevated, and a depot.
• 19.7 km length with 2.6 km underground and 17.1 km elevated section.
• Twin single-track bored tunnels and a double-track cut-and-cover tunnel.
• Precast concrete segment lining of 6,050 mm internal diameter, 300 mm thickness and 1,200 mm width.
• TBM: 70 m length, 300 ton weight, 12.5 m primary drills.
Nhon – Hanoi station metro line 03
To meet the transportation demand of fast-developing Hanoi city, the Nhon – Hanoi station metro line 03 project was ground broken in 2010. The package CP03 of this project includes four underground stations and the main tunnel along the inter-station stretches and auxiliary structures. The main tunnel is composed by two single-track tubes linking the stations together, summing up to 2.6 km of mechanized tunnel. The segmental lining consists in a 5,700 mm inner diameter ring with a thickness of 300 mm (resulting in an outer diameter of 6,300 mm). Under passing a very densely populated area with numerous buildings, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with the Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) method is used for tunnelling of about 20 m below the ground surface. The construction of package CP03 started from 2020 and was expected to finish in 2023.
Main specifications:
• 12 stations, of which 4 underground and 8 elevated, and a depot.
• 12.5 km length with 4.0 km underground and 8.5 km elevated section.
• Two single-track bored tunnels and a double-track cut-and-cover tunnel.
• Precast concrete segment lining of 5,700 mm internal diameter, 300 mm thickness.
• TBM: 100 m length, 850 ton weight, a rotating cutting wheel of 6.58 m diameter, speed of 10 – 18 m tunnel per day.
High-rise buildings
Landmark 81
Landmark 81 Tower, with the height of 461m, topped out in Jan 2018 to become the tallest building in the Southeast Asia and remains the tallest building in Vietnam. The 81-storey tower with three levels of basement comprises commercial, retail and luxury residential apartments with a gross floor area of 241,000m².
Built in an area with exceptionally poor-quality soil (28m of very soft clay with SPT N-value of 0 to 2), a thick raft supported on barrette pile is adopted as the main geotechnical solution for the tower foundation, which allowed for maximum flexibility for the subsequent development of the design in the fast-track design and construction programme. After excavating 25,000m3 of soft soil, the foundation tower of Landmark 81 with an area of 3,000m2, a thickness of 8.4m, more than 17,000m3 of concrete and about 6,500t of steel is considered to be the largest scale in Vietnam and ranked 2nd in the world. The construction of the pile cap system lasted for 41 hours involved about 700 people pouring the concrete and 1,700 truckloads of concrete delivered to the site.
Main specifications:
• 461m height of 81 storeys and 3 basement levels
• Floor area of 241,000m2
• Total concrete volume of 100,000m3, 80,000t of steel
Hanoi Landmark tower
Hanoi Landmark Tower (or Landmark 72) is a mixed-use supertall skyscraper. The complex consists of one 72-story mixed-use tower with a height of 350 m and two 48-story hotel twin towers. Landmark 72 is located on an area of 46,054 m2 and the total floor area is 609,673 m2, ranked 5th as the largest floor area of a single building in the world. The complex opened on 18 May 2012. The building held the status of the tallest building in Vietnam until Landmark 81 was built in 2018.
To construct the complex in the soft soils of Hanoi, 980 piles with diameters of up to two meters across were drilled deep underground in more than 1 year construction time. The pile cap structure is 6,217m2 area, 4m height with 24,868m3 concrete. The reinforced concrete frame of the 72-story tower utilized post-tensioning which allowed the structure to rise as quickly as of one floor every five days.
Main specifications:
• 350m height of 72 storeys and two 48 storeys hotel twin towers.
• Floor area of 609,673m2
Special-level ports
Gemalink Cai Mep international terminal
Gemalink International Port is a joint venture between Gemadept and the world’s leading partner, CMA-Terminals (France). With a water depth in front of the berth being up to -16.5 meters, Gemalink Deep-sea Port is one of the seaports with the deepest draft in Vietnam, and one of the few seaports in the world that has can attract leading shipping lines, especially those operating mother vessels with a tonnage of up to 250,000DWT – the largest container vessel in the world currently. After putting into operation from January 2021, Gemalink entered the Top 19 of the world’s commercial ports capable of receiving the next generation largest megaship; it is also one of the most important transhipment hubs of Southeast Asia. On 30 March 2023, the mega container vessel M/V OOCL Spain of 24,188 TEU visit Gemalink on her first route on Asia-Europe LL3 route.
To ensure a modern yet cost-effective design and future-proof requirement, the latest design codes and guidelines (Eurocode, British Standards, PIANC, CUR) were applied to maximise the efficiency in design and minimum use of materials and resources.
• Deck-on-pile quay structure: total 1,217 PHC D800*140mm piles of length 52 to 66m were installed as the main working piles, together with 221 raking steel tubular pipe D813*16mm piles of length 54 to 70m.
• 181 contiguous bored pile wall of length 35 to 40m were also installed to ensure the stability of main quay block on the very soft soil layers.
• With the total thickness of soft soil layers of more than 50m, preloading height of up to 12m together with prefabricated vertical drain with/without vacuum pressure were applied to reduce the residual settlement. Primary settlement of up to 6m was found.
Main specifications:
• Total area of 72ha
• The longest main berth in Vietnam, 1150m, and 370m side berth
• The deepest port in Vietnam, -16.5m draft
• 8 super post Panamax with range of up to 70m
• Vessel size of up to 250,000 DWT or 25,000 TEU
• Capacity 2.4 million TEUs/year
Hai Phong international container terminal
Tan Cang – Hai Phong International Container Terminal (TC-HICT) or Lach Huyen port is the first deep-water seaport of the Northern key economic region, the gateway connecting to the world of the Northern region. The port was built on an area of 44.9 ha in Cat Hai district, Hai Phong and expected to operate on 2025.
In the first phase, two container terminals will be constructed with a total length of 750m, capable of receiving container ships of 14,000 TEU and general ships with a tonnage of 160,000 DWT.
Main specifications:
• The largest container terminal in the Northern Vietnam
• Total area of 44.9ha (phase 1) to 58.4ha (phase 2)
• Berth pocket of 16m depth
• Turning circle of 660m diameter
• Navigational channel of 14m depth
• Two container berth of 750m total
• Phase 1’s vessel size of 100,000 DWT or 8,000 TEU
• Phase 2’s vessel size of 160,000 DWT or 14,000 TEU
• CDM technology has been applied to ensure the stability of the quay area.
• Preloading together with prefabricated vertical drain with/without vacuum pressure will be applied to improve soft soils.