Government's Position on Resolving Wind Power Projects in Lam Dong Overlapping with Mineral Planning

On 27 July 2026, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc chaired a meeting with relevant ministries, agencies, and Lam Dong Province to discuss solutions for wind power projects overlapping with Group I mineral planning areas under Decision No. 866/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for Exploration, Extraction, Processing and Utilization of Minerals for the 2021–2030 Period, with a Vision to 2050 (Master Plan 866).

According to the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, the overlap with Master Plan 866 has prevented several wind power projects from being fully commissioned, resulting in underutilized investments and affecting the province's socio-economic development.

In northern Lam Dong Province (formerly Dak Nong Province), six wind power projects with a combined capacity of approximately 430 MW are affected. Five of these projects have been implemented, with 65 out of 84 wind turbines meeting the conditions for commercial operation. However, around 64 hectares of their project area overlap with Master Plan 866.

In eastern Lam Dong Province (formerly Binh Thuan Province), two wind power projects with a combined capacity of 160 MW have approximately 28 hectares overlapping with the mineral planning.

Lam Dong Province therefore proposed an early adjustment to Master Plan 866 to address overlapping areas, thereby providing a legal basis for the continued implementation and commissioning of the affected wind power projects. According to the province, this would help maximize the efficiency of existing investments, create additional room for industrial and energy development, and help increase the province's industrial growth rate to over 12%.

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc chairs a meeting with representatives of ministries, government agencies, and Lam Dong Province. Photo: VGP/Phuong Nguyen.

At the meeting, representatives from the Ministries of Finance; Agriculture and Environment; Justice; the Government Inspectorate; and the Ministry of Public Security generally agreed with Lam Dong Province's proposal. They considered that removing the overlapping areas of the wind power projects from Master Plan 866 and reclassifying them as national mineral reserve areas would be an appropriate approach.

Participants noted that resolving the overlap would facilitate the commissioning of wind power projects that have largely completed construction, add electricity supply to the national power system, and contribute to ensuring energy security. However, they emphasized that resolving these obstacles must be clearly separated from the handling of responsibilities of organizations and individuals found to have committed violations, in accordance with inspection conclusions and applicable laws.

For wind power projects that have been completed, it was proposed that acceptance procedures continue in accordance with current regulations, while options for completing the remaining project components should be considered in full compliance with the law.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc stressed the need to promptly remove obstacles so that completed wind power projects could be brought into commercial operation as soon as possible, thereby avoiding waste of invested resources, while emphasizing that violations must not be legalized or legitimized.

Reiterating the Government's guiding principle that obstacles should be resolved wherever they arise and that similar issues should be reviewed and addressed consistently, the Deputy Prime Minister instructed Lam Dong Province to review all wind power projects facing similar difficulties to the eight projects discussed at the meeting and submit a comprehensive report together with proposed solutions.

Regarding the proposed adjustment to address wind power projects overlapping with Master Plan 866, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the urgent completion of the required dossiers and procedures for submission to the Prime Minister for approval. Any adjustment to the planning must be limited strictly to the areas directly affected by each project and project component, ensuring that it does not affect the long-term development orientation of the mineral industry or the province's overall development.

The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized that while obstacles facing wind power projects must be addressed promptly, the responsibilities of organizations and individuals found to have committed violations (if any) must be handled in accordance with the law. The handling of violations should be completed within a specific timeframe and should not delay the continued implementation of the projects./.