By 2025, HCM City hopes to bury all electrical cables in most central districts and in other selected areas, according to Electricity of VIet Nam's HCM City Power Corporation. — VNS Photo Văn Châu

HCM CITY — Thousands of kilometers of electrical and telecommunications cables have been buried underground in HCM City as part of a project that began nearly 10 years ago.

Between 2011 and 2015, as many as 358km of medium-voltage and 620km of low-voltage cables were buried underground on 62 streets.

By 2020, about 650km of medium-voltage and 1,150km of low-voltage power lines are expected to be buried, according to the HCM City Power Corporation under Electricity of Việt Nam (EVN HCM City).

In suburban areas, the work will be carried out first in crowded areas near administrative centres and shopping malls.

By 2025, electrical cables will no longer be above ground in central districts, administrative centres in suburban districts, new urban zones, and industrial zones.

In 2009, the HCM City People’s Committee approved a proposal to move electrical and telecommunication cables underground to improve safety and the city’s image.

EVN HCM City was assigned to carry out the task.

Nguyễn Hoàng Thu Thủy, a store owner on Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street in District 3, said that bunches of electrical cables in front of her shop had sagged under their own weight and looked like they could collapse at any time.

Once the cables were cleared, her neighborhood felt much less claustrophobic, Thủy said.

Locally referred to as "spider webs", the overhead intertwined electrical and telecom cables have been a characteristic of big cities like Hà Nội and HCM City for years.

Ngô Hoàng Hải, a resident in District 1, said the streets looked safer and more beautiful without the overhead cables.

The city has placed nearly 2,800km of electrical cables underground, accounting for more than 39 per cent of the medium-voltage grids and more than 14 per cent of the low-voltage grids, according to EVN.  VNS