Workers operate and ensure the functioning of machinery at the Training Centre of the Ho Chi Minh City High-Tech Park (Photo: VNA)
 

 Proactively developing power infrastructure, diversifying energy supplies and expanding access to green energy are becoming essential for Ho Chi Minh City to maintain its competitive edge in attracting high-tech foreign direct investment (FDI).

Rapidly rising electricity demand

According to Travis Mitchell, Executive Director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham), high technology and semiconductors offer considerable potential for attracting investment from US businesses to Ho Chi Minh City. The city needs to ensure a stable power supply at competitive prices.

Nguyen Ky Phung, head of the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) Management Board, said investment projects in the park are shifting towards sectors with high electricity consumption, particularly data centres and the semiconductor industry.

SHTP currently has 147 dedicated substations with a total installed capacity of 469,535 kVA, which basically meets current production needs. However, without the timely addition of power sources and grid infrastructure, the park will face considerable pressure as data centre and semiconductor projects, as well as its expansion area, become operational. SHTP’s electricity demand through 2030 has been calculated and incorporated into the power supply plan. During 2025-2030, four 110 kV substations with a combined minimum capacity of 504 MVA will be added to the existing 913-ha park, while another 110 kV substation with a minimum capacity of 189 MVA will be built in the 194.84-ha expansion area. This brings the minimum additional capacity for the two areas to 693 MVA.

High-tech projects, particularly data centres, are not confined to SHTP but are also expanding into export processing zones and industrial parks across Ho Chi Minh City, driving up electricity demand.

Proactively securing supply to sustain investment appeal

Ho Chi Minh City currently consumes around 58 billion kWh of electricity annually, with peak demand reaching about 9,471 MW. By 2030, the city’s electricity consumption is forecast to reach 93.972 billion kWh, with peak demand of about 16,103 MW.

In response to this rapid growth, calculations by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade show that the city needs to add around 6,000 MW of capacity to meet electricity demand for production.

Bui Trung Kien, Deputy General Director of Ho Chi Minh City Power Corporation (EVNHCMC), said that the proactive efforts of the power sector and industrial park infrastructure developers played an important role in maintaining the city’s position as an attractive investment destination.

The city’s power sector has focused on upgrading infrastructure, accelerating grid automation and building additional transmission lines and substations to ensure a stable electricity supply while improving system quality and reliability.

According to Le Huynh Minh Tu, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, the city plans to establish a national energy centre in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau area. The centre is intended to focus on supplying energy to the city, including its data centres.

On September 22, 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council adopted Resolution No. 47/2026/NQ-HDND, under which the city has added participants in direct power trading through dedicated connection grids, including power generators using liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired thermal power plants and electricity consumers in industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, industrial clusters and hi-tech parks.

Alongside the direct power purchase mechanism, renewable energy development is also opening up opportunities to supplement the city’s long-term power supply.

In 2026, Pacifico Energy Vietnam Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of US-based Pacifico Energy, received approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to use designated sea areas to conduct surveys for the development of two offshore wind power projects.

Of them, an offshore wind power project in the southern region is expected to have a capacity of 500 MW in waters off Ho Chi Minh City, with total investment estimated at around 2 billion USD.

VNA