Dubai, known as the city of billionaires, supercars, and skyscrapers, boasts one of the fastest growth rates globally. While the climate is extremely arid, the booming population has led to a depletion of groundwater resources, meeting only 5% of the city’s needs. To address this, 99.5% of the city’s freshwater needs are met by desalinated seawater, thanks to a massive plant named Jebel Ali.
This seawater desalination plant, located between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Desert, can process 10.6 billion liters of seawater per day. Of the intake, 9% is converted into drinking water, while the remaining water is pumped back into the Persian Gulf.
The transformation of seawater into freshwater in Dubai is made possible by a manufacturing plant located thousands of kilometers away, occupying 100 hectares within the Dung Quat Economic Zone in Quang Ngai, Vietnam. The plant is operated by the Doosan Group, a South Korean conglomerate.
In November 2006, Doosan Heavy Industries Vietnam Co., Ltd. – later renamed Doosan Enerbility Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Doosan Vina) when its parent company changed its name to Doosan Enerbility – received its investment certificate. The plant was inaugurated in May 2009, and the first shipment was exported that same year.
Doosan Vina specializes in manufacturing equipment for power plants, cranes for seaports, seawater desalination equipment, crude oil heating equipment, modules, and steel structures for industrial projects, and will soon venture into offshore wind power products. According to their website, the company has completed 398 projects, totaling over 580,000 tons in weight and over $3 billion in value. These products are currently operational in 35 countries worldwide.
In the field of boilers, Doosan Vina has provided a total of 20,000MW of electricity to power plants in India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, including Mong Duong 2 (1200MW), Vinh Tan 4 (1,200MW), Vinh Tan 4 Expansion (600MW), Song Hau 1 (1,200MW), Nghi Son 2 (1,330MW), and Van Phong 1 (1,320MW).
Regarding port cranes, Doosan Vina has supplied 105 cranes to bustling ports worldwide, including PSA Singapore, JNPT and BMCT India, Samarinda Indonesia, and Saudi Global Port in Saudi Arabia. In Vietnam, they have provided cranes to Tan Cang Saigon Port, Danang Port, Nghi Son Refinery Port, Gemalink Port, and Nam Dinh Vu Port, among others.
As of now, Doosan Vina has manufactured 140 modules for international clients. They have also supplied 155,300 tons of steel structures for the construction of power plants such as Mong Duong 2, Vinh Tan 4, Vinh Tan 4 Expansion, Song Hau 1, Nghi Son 2, Van Phong 1, and Vung Ang 2 in Vietnam, as well as Cochrane FGD in Chile and IHI KP2 Project Coal Bunker in Japan.
In addition to the Dubai desalination plant mentioned earlier, Doosan Vina has also provided equipment to plants in Chile, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Bahrain. These massive pieces of equipment, weighing nearly 4,500 tons and as tall as a five-story building, can produce 776 million liters of clean water daily, meeting the needs of approximately 2.5 million people.
Doosan Vina has also supplied nearly 4,600 tons of crude oil heating equipment components to the Thai Oil Refinery in Thailand and 600 tons to the Sriracha Refinery in Thailand.
According to Doosan Group’s consolidated financial report, Doosan Vina’s revenue ranged from 385 to 543 billion won from 2019 to 2023. The year 2022 marked a peak, with revenue and profit reaching their highest levels at 543 billion won and 130 billion won (equivalent to 10,160 billion VND and 2,435 billion VND, respectively, based on exchange rates at the end of 2022).
However, 2023 witnessed a significant decline, with revenue decreasing by 8% to 499 billion won (9,350 billion VND) and profit dropping by 69% to 40 billion won (750 billion VND).
In terms of asset scale, Doosan Vina is the fourth-largest subsidiary of Doosan abroad, with 570 billion won in assets as of the end of 2023.
Doosan’s published materials mention a project focusing on nuclear energy, with Vietnam being one of the countries targeted for resource allocation by the Group.
In fact, Doosan Vina was the first company in Southeast Asia to receive ASME nuclear certification, and it has consistently expressed its desire to work closely with the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) and relevant ministries to showcase Doosan’s experience in developing nuclear power plants. The first nuclear power plant equipment produced in Vietnam was supplied by Doosan Vina to the Shin Kori Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea in 2016.
On May 25, 2022, Doosan Enerbility announced a 5,000 billion won ($3.9 billion) investment in the small modular reactor (SMR) industry over the next five years, covering next-generation nuclear reactors, gas turbines, hydrogen, and hydrogen fuel cells.
