Work on the construction and installation of a 500kV electric grid connecting five southern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City is speeding up to ensure an on-scheme completion by the end of this year, according to Electricity of Vietnam.

The power line, named 500kV Pleiku-My Phuoc–Cau Bong, runs through HCM City , the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, and the central highland provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong.

The 437-km network will increase the electricity back-up capacity for the southern part of the country for the 2014-15 period.

It will then boost power connectivity throughout Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia after 2015.

The project has total investment of 9.3 trillion VND (442 million USD), funded from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and other financial resources.

The Project Management Board of Central Power Projects, a subsidiary of EVN, is acting on behalf of the National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT) to implement the project.

By mid August this year, land clearances were completed to give constructors space for 901 of the 926 electric poles needed for the project, the board reported.

Out of 4,400 household to be relocated for the construction, about 3,730 households have received compensation so far.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged the southern and central highland localities to facilitate the construction of the 500kv power line.

Previously, work was delayed due to reported difficulties in completing land clearances to make room for the expansive construction project.

"If the power line project fails to follow the construction timeline, it will affect the power supply to HCM City and the southern region as of next year," NPT chairman Dang Phan Truong said.

Nguyen Duc Tuyen, head of the project management board of Central Power Projects, urged contractors to speed up and ensure they could provide enough of the crucial poles on time.-VNA