Nearly 2,100 households in Van Don island district of northern Quang Ninh province gained access to electricity ahead of traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) thanks to a national grid project inaugurated on January 17.

The work, launched by the Northern Power Corporation in April 2014, was completed on schedule after eight months of implementation, at a total cost of 304.7 billion VND (14.4 million USD).

More than 81km of middle voltage lines, nearly 60km of low voltage lines and 21 transformer stations were built in the five islands of Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ban Sen, Ngoc Vung and Thang Loi.

The project has a significant meaning in the local socio-economic development and the building of the Van Don special economic zone, Secretary of the district’s Party Committee Doan Van Chinh said.

Van Don was selected by the Vietnamese government to develop into a special administrative and economic zone. It is the biggest island in the north of Vietnam and still largely untapped. The island has easy access to other economic and political centres in Asia as it is located in a corridor linking China and ASEAN.-VNA