When plans were first drawn up for Vietnam’s first oil refinery in the 1990s, the estimated cost was $1.5 billion.

The refinery, slated for completion at the end of this year, will be two months behind its schedule. A cracker at Dung Quat, which makes gasoline and other products, broke down on August 18, leading to a six-week shutdown.

The refinery, which started commercial operations in February, has a projected capacity of 6.5 million tons of crude a year, but the National Assembly said the productivity should be increased to ensure energy security.

The cost estimates for another major project, the Son La Hydropower Plant, have also been increased by 39 percent from the original $2.6 billion. The government said construction costs have surged at a faster pace than capital disbursement, driving up the estimate.

The government in April admitted the process of compensating residents displaced by the power project was slow. Construction at the plant started in 2005 and was set for completion in 2012. The hydropower plant in the northwest will have the largest reservoir in the country.

The government also said on Friday that the transnational Ho Chi Minh highway project needs another VND3.1 trillion ($176 million) and it will not be completed in 2010 as planned.

More than VND41 trillion ($2.3 billion) has been approved for the project which will link the two farthest provinces in Vietnam, Cao Bang in the north and Ca Mau in the south.

Source: Thanh Nien, Agencies