PANO – The State Bank of Vietnam and World Bank have signed a US$ 500 million loan for a US$731.25 million operation in support of Vietnam’s energy sector. The investment will fund the construction of over 1,000km of transmission lines and implement Smart Grid technologies to improve reliability and quality of electricity supply.
The loan supports a Transmission Efficiency Project, which is expected to improve the capacity, efficiency and reliability of electricity transmission in key areas to the country’s economic development, including the Greater Hanoi Area, the Greater Ho Chi Minh City Area, the Mekong Delta, and the Central Region.
(Photo for illustration. Congan.com.vn)
It will finance transmission lines and substations, constituting about 15 percent of the expected need for transmission network expansion by 2020. The project targets key investment need in major economic development areas where transmission overloads are already present or in the very near future.
In addition, the project will support Smart Grid technologies for monitoring, control, and protection equipment to improve reliability and reduce electricity outages, and help build the capacity of the National Power Transmission Company by supporting its operational and financial independence, as part of a plan to pilot a competitive energy wholesale market by 2015.
The total financing requirement of the project is estimated at US$731.25 million, of which US$500 million will be funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank Group’s lending arm for middle-income countries. The remaining US$231.25 million will be financed by the National Power Transmission Company, Electricity of Vietnam.
Chung Anh
Đăng ký: VietNam News
