Utility To Invest $225m In Power Projects

HA NOI (VNS)— The Southern Electricity Corporation has announced that it will invest nearly VND4.5 trillion (US$225 million) in major power projects this year in efforts to ensure electricity for people in the region.

The projects include a sea cable system from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc Island and power transmission networks in rural areas.

The firm has signed an EPC contract with Italy's Prysmian Powerlink Srl company for laying 56km of sub-sea cable to Phu Quoc Island. Scheduled to be completed in 2014, the power transmission line will connect the resort island to the national power grid. More than VND2.3 trillion ($111 million) has been invested in the project.

Meanwhile, VND1 trillion ($49 million) will be poured into the construction of power grids in areas inhabited by Khmer people in Kien Giang, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces. This year the second phase of the project will be completed, bringing electricity to 33,312 households in the area.

The German Development Bank-funded rural power distribution project will be accelerated to meet the deadline in 2014. With a total investment of VND1 trillion, the project aims to ensure stable electricity supply, improve safety and reduce power loss in rural areas.

Last year the corporation invested a total of VND2.9 trillion ($139 million) in 45 110kV power grid projects and 218 distribution networks in the South. — VNS