ESBIe-fm Nhon Trach project, Vietnam, progresses well

ESBI Engineering and Facility Management (ESBIe-fm) is pleased to announce that work on the Nhon Trach project in Vietnam is progressing well. Elements completed so far include initial contract negotiations and design review, with the erection and commissioning phase now well under way.

Tremendous work by the joint ESBIe-fm, PECC 2 (local Vietnamese sub-consultants) team has also ensured that commercial operation of the second gas turbines began in June. All efforts are now concentrated on the combined-cycle phase of the plant, scheduled for the early part of 2009.

Project history
Nhon Trach is a 450MW development under construction for PetroVietnam and is located 50km south of Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2005, ESBIe-fm commenced work on the combined-cycle project by assisting in the preparation of enquiry documents. Shortly afterwards, the Engineer, Procure, Construct (EPC) contract was awarded to a consortium of local Vietnamese contractors, Lilama and CC1.

In 2006, PetroVietnam also awarded ESBIe-fm the role of Client Engineer, who in turn selected PECC 2, a Vietnamese engineering company, as sub-consultants on the project. ESBIe-fm has a long established professional and personal relationship with PECC 2, from co-consulting on various Vietnamese programmes over the years, including the Phu My 4, Omon and Ba Ria projects.

Staff commitment makes project a success
A large number of ESBIe-fm staff have worked tirelessly on the Nhon Trach project in Vietnam to ensure its success, including: Dave Nesbitt, Joe Duignan, Matt Reilly, Nathan Wadington, Henry Bouchier, Brendan Haugh, Samir Habib, Brian McGlinchey, Hans Dieter Gerlitz, Paul O'Duffy, Tadgh Beary, Gerry Noonan and Pearse Nolan.

During September, Noel Murray, Project Manager of the Moneypoint Environmental Retrofit Project moved to Nhon Trach to take over from current site manager, Dave Nesbitt. Dave is moving to the Hai Phong project, also Vietnam, to relieve Bernard Casey, who is moving back to Ireland having completed over two and a half years in Vietnam. Bernard now takes over from Noel Murray thus completing a neat triangular movement of managers within ESBI that not only reinforces the strong relationship between ESBI and Vietnam but also brings back key overseas experience to Ireland.

"It is the vast experience and true commitment of our staff to international projects like Nhon Trach and Hai Phong that makes our programmes such a success," commented Liam Walsh who is Business Development and International Consultancy Manager, ESBIe-fm. "Not only does it help share knowledge and rotate skills among projects, it also forms the basis of building very strong relations with countries and contractors."