The National Assembly’s adoption of Resolution No. 253/2025/QH15 on December 11, 2025, outlining mechanisms and policies for national energy development for the 2026-2030 period, is being regarded as a timely and strategically important decision.
As Vietnam targets GDP growth of more than 10% in the 2026–2030 period, demand for energy, particularly electricity for production, is expected to rise sharply.
Mr. Trần Thúc Kham, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, talks about the significance and expected impact of the resolution.
* Why is Resolution No. 253/2025/QH15 considered essential at this time?
Mr. Trần Thúc Kham. Photo: Provided by the interviewee
- Vietnam is entering a new phase of development with ambitious growth goals, aiming to become a modern industrialized nation with upper-middle-income status by 2030. This trajectory will drive rapid and uninterrupted increases in energy consumption, especially electricity.
However, the existing legal framework has not kept pace with emerging realities, particularly new energy models such as offshore wind power, direct power purchase agreements (DPPA), and post-investment electricity price bidding mechanisms.
Resolution No. 253/2025/QH15, which takes effect on March 1, 2026, establishes a clearer and more stable policy foundation. It helps resolve institutional bottlenecks, ensures safe and sustainable electricity supplies, and reinforces national energy security amid soaring demand.
* What are the key highlights of this resolution?
-Resolution No. 253/2025/QH15 updates several strategic mechanisms and policies. Notably, it allows adjustments to power development planning and provincial grid development plans to meet practical needs, as long as major objectives and orientations remain unchanged and total generation capacity does not exceed approved limits.
The resolution also promotes renewable energy development, especially offshore wind power, expands new electricity trading models, enhances post-bidding pricing mechanisms, and builds a more transparent, stable investment environment for both domestic and foreign investors.
Significantly, investment projects in power grid infrastructure already included in the power development plan will no longer require investment policy approval, helping shorten project timelines.
The solar power project of Phu My Clean Energy Vision Development Joint Stock Company in Phu My Dong commune. Photo: Hải Yến
* In your view, what breakthroughs in energy development thinking does this resolution introduce?
- This is the first time the National Assembly has issued a thematic resolution on medium-term mechanisms and policies for energy development. It reflects a major shift from administrative management to development facilitation, recognizing energy as foundational infrastructure for growth and national security.
The resolution moves beyond the traditional goal of merely “ensuring sufficient electricity supply” toward building a sustainable, diversified, modern energy sector aligned with the green transition and international commitments.
It also expands policy space for new energy models by establishing legal foundations where none previously existed, a critical step for keeping pace with global energy market trends.
* How will Gia Lai apply this resolution, given its strong renewable energy potential?
-Once the resolution takes effect, Gia Lai will apply it flexibly to adjust and update elements of the power development plan and provincial grid plan. All adjustments will comply with the Constitution and laws, align with Party guidelines, ensure energy security and power system safety, and support energy transition goals.
We place strong emphasis on transparency, strict power control, anti-corruption, anti-waste, and preventing the resurgence of “ask–give” mechanisms.
Wind power fields in Ia Bang commune. Photo: Phạm Quý
*Could you share how the implementation of the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII is progressing locally?
-The Department of Industry and Trade has advised the Provincial People’s Committee to report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the progress of power source and grid projects under the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII. We have also provided data to support the proposal for adjusting the national power plan for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.
Under Government Resolution No. 233/NQ-CP on addressing obstacles for renewable energy projects, three projects with a combined capacity of 132 MW are already operational. Two additional projects totaling 250.5 MW are awaiting appraisal and licensing by the Electricity Regulatory Authority and are expected to come online soon.
The province has conducted a five-year review of Politburo Resolution No. 55-NQ/TW, reviewed the installation of wind measurement towers in its western region, and monitored investment registration and progress of wind and grid-connected solar projects.
Based on these evaluations, we have advised the Provincial People’s Committee to propose that the Government and Ministry of Industry and Trade include Gia Lai’s power source and grid projects in the adjusted Power Development Plan VIII and to issue plans for investor selection for renewable energy projects.
Vietnam will support cooperatives in accessing digital platforms and new technologies under its 2026 Cooperative Development Plan, aimed at accelerating digital transformation and improving competitiveness in the collective economic sector.
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Communities in western Gia Lai are accelerating efforts to restore farming and rebuild homes after late-2025 storms and floods devastated thousands of hectares of crops, damaged livestock production, and repeatedly inundated residential areas.
Gia Lai province is tightening oversight of major urban area and residential housing projects as it pushes to meet its goal of double-digit GRDP growth from 2025 to 2030.
Gia Lai’s major rubber producers are racing to meet the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), overhauling land records, tightening supply-chain controls and deploying digital traceability systems to safeguard access to a high-value export market.
The once-barren commune of Pờ Tó is emerging as a new cocoa hub after successful trials by Trọng Đức Cocoa Co., Ltd., drawing interest from Japan’s Bourbon Corporation and promising higher incomes for local ethnic minority farmers.
Gia Lai is accelerating its transition towards a green economy, positioning itself as a strategic link in the Central Highlands’ sustainable value chain through large-scale agriculture, renewable energy expansion and upgraded connectivity infrastructure.
Businesses across Gia Lai province have sharply increased production following the Binh Ngo Lunar New Year holiday, with more than 90% of workers returning and many factories operating near full capacity.
Work continued throughout the Lunar New Year on two of the province’s most critical infrastructure projects, the Quy Nhơn - Pleiku Expressway and the second runway at Phù Cát Airport, as the contractors intensified efforts to avert schedule slippage from the first days of the year.
Gia Lai province has rolled out an ambitious plan to accelerate the transition of household businesses into enterprises, positioning the private sector as a core engine of economic growth.
Community leaders and respected village figures in western Gia Lai province are emerging as key drivers of local economic growth, using their own household successes to encourage ethnic minority communities to adopt more sustainable and productive farming models.
Gia Lai province is emerging as one of Vietnam’s most assertive adopters of digital transformation, rolling out AI tools, upgrading administrative systems, and investing heavily in digital infrastructure as part of the national strategy to modernize government and accelerate economic development.
Gia Lai province is accelerating a broad transition toward green and organic farming as climate pressures, rising input costs, and stricter market requirements push its agricultural sector to shift from output-driven production to sustainability-focused models.
Gia Lai is leveraging its rich natural resources and strong wind and solar potential to position itself as a renewable energy hub in the Central and Central Highlands regions.
A farmer in Pleiku, Nguyễn Trung Nguyên, has become the first local producer of civet coffee after spending 15 years expanding a small experiment into one of Tây Gia Lai’s largest civet farms.
Gia Lai attracted a record VND 159.874 trillion (about USD 6.2 billion) in registered investment capital in 2025, exceeding the targets and marking its highest annual inflow to date, as authorities intensify efforts to position the province as a competitive and sustainable investment destination.
Vietnamese consumers are increasingly turning to online platforms to prepare for the Lunar New Year, with e-commerce and social media reshaping traditional Tet shopping habits, from festive foods to ornamental flowers and household goods.
Gia Lai farmers in Vietnam are accelerating a shift from commercial coffee to specialty-grade Robusta as demand for premium beans grows domestically and abroad. The transition is reshaping harvesting and processing practices across the province as producers pursue stricter quality standards.
Residents in Đak Đoa commune have voluntarily cleared crops and dismantled structures to hand over land for the Quy Nhơn-Pleiku Expressway, significantly accelerating site-clearance progress for the national transport project.
Gia Lai province on January 30 announced the full commercial operation of the Ia Pech and Ia Pech 2 wind power projects, officially bringing all turbines online and supplying electricity to Vietnam’s national grid at maximum capacity.
Vietnam is intensifying market surveillance from key seaports to border areas in Gia Lai province as authorities move to curb smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods ahead of the Lunar New Year 2026, the National Steering Committee 389 said.
The Provincial People’s Committee on February 5 convened an in-person and online conference to assess January’s socio-economic results and outline key tasks for February 2026, chaired by Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee and member of the Party Central Committee.
Coffee cultivation is transforming livelihoods in Bờ Ngoong commune, where rising bean prices and improved production techniques have enabled many ethnic minority households to earn annual incomes of several hundred million to more than 1 billion VND.