More than 1,000 locals in Ngoc Vung island commune, the northern province of Quang Ninh, are excited at having daylong electricity for the first time as a project to connect island localities to the national power grid is finishing by late 2014.

The 40-square kilometer island with 3km-long untouched beaches is 45 kilometres from the mainland of Van Don district.

According to Nguyen Thi Phuong, Vice Chairwoman of the Ngoc Vung communal People’s Committee, electricity access is expected to help the residents develop household economy since they mainly engage in farming and offshore fishing, earning an average per capita income of 50 million VND (2,350 USD) per year.

Currently, Ngoc Vung locals have power for three-hour use a day, which are generated by diesel-fuelled generators and solar heating.

The 300 billion VND (14.1 million USD) project, once completed in late 2014 as planned by the Quang Ninh Power Company, the Electricity of Vietnam and the Northern Power Corporation, will bring power to 2,568 households in Ngoc Vung, Quan Lan, Ban Sen, Minh Chau and Thang Loi communes, of Van Don district.

It is part of a plan to make the Van Don special administrative-economic zone a dynamic island area of Quang Ninh, contributing to the protection of national security-defence and sovereignty in the country’s Northeastern sea.

According to Phung Kim Dai, Quang Ninh Power Company Vice Director, works on 80 percent of the project has finished despite difficulties in transportation of necessary facilities at sea, which include a giant number of 1,500 low voltage and nearly 800 98-meter-tall middle voltage poles.

In 2015-16, the rest island communes of Quang Ninh - Cai Chien and Tran – will be connected to the national power grid, he said.

The Quang Ninh Power Company has to date brought power to 99.8 percent of Quang Ninh’s households.

It is working on a 150 billion VND (7.05 million USD) project to help the rest of 0.2 percent, or 1,800 households, use power in the near future.-VNA