BÌNH ĐỊNH – Bình Định Province’s People’s Committee Chairman Hồ Quốc Dũng has approved an electric cable project for the Nhơn Châu island commune (known as Cù Lao Xanh Island).

The project will connect the Nhơn Châu island commune of Quy Nhơn City with the national power grid in 2017-20, the online Dân Trí reported. 

The project is estimated to cost some VNĐ350 billion (US$15.7 million), of which nearly VNĐ300 billion (US$13.5 million) is being funded by the Government’s budget.

This includes the construction of a 10km undersea cable, a 288m underground cable and a 4.8km air cable in the commune.

“We are facing an electricity shortage because one of the three electricity generators of the commune is currently broken,” Phan Văn Binh, chairman of Nhơn Châu Commune’s People's Committee, said.

“We are very excited to hear about the project and are looking forward to it,” he said. “With a stable electricity source, we will get more opportunities for economic and tourism development.”

The commune’s diesel electric generators operate from 5pm to 11pm daily, with additional six hours in the summer (from 9am to 3pm).

Each year, Bình Định Province spends an average of VNĐ1 billion ($44,800) to provide electricity to the commune’s residents.

The Nhơn Châu island commune has a strategic position in national security, maritime economics and the protection of national sovereignty. It is home to more than 500 households (some 2,000 people) who make a living from coastal fishing and undertaking small businesses.

Last year, Nhơn Châu was classified as an island commune under Quy Nhơn City so that it could benefit from the government’s preferential policies. – VNS