Thang was previously charged with the deliberate violation of state regulations on economic management, which led to serious consequences.
Meanwhile Trinh Xuan Thanh, former chairman of PVC, a unit of PVN, was given a life sentence after being found guilty of both economic mismanagement and embezzlement.
The verdicts were delivered by the People’s Court of Hanoi in January.
According to court documents, Thang was found to have broken the law when assigning PVC to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package at the Thai Binh 2 power plant.
Thang then ordered his subordinates at PVN and the project management unit to advance money to PVC, which was then later used by Trinh Xuan Thanh and his accomplices for other purposes rather than on the Thai Binh 2 project.
But Thang has appealed against his conviction, claiming that the sentence was too severe and that his responsibility was not judged correctly.
Thanh also disputed his verdict and appealed to the higher court to reconsider his charges, sentences and compensation.
The hearing is expected to last for ten days.
