Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has set a target of completing and putting into operation a 500 kV national transmission line, circuit 3, by June 2024, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

The line plays an important role in connecting electricity grids in different regions, contributing to ensuring power supply for the northern region in the years to come, he told a recent conference discussing measures to speed up the project.

The 514-km line, running from Quang Trach district in central Quang Binh province to Pho Noi in northern Hung Yen province, will be built at a total cost of VND23 trillion ($973.85 million).

It is expected to help increase power transmission capacity between the central and northern regions from 2,200 MW to 5,000 MW.

Included in the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP 8), the project, consisting of four sub-projects, is expected to be put into operation in 2025-2026. However, in order to increase supply and ease power shortages in the north, the government leader has set a new deadline of June 2024.

In order to complete the project by the new deadline, Minister Dien ordered Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and its subsidiary, the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT), the project’s investor, to complete documents on the project in July and submit these to authorized agencies for investment approval in September.

They were also instructed to closely work with relevant localities to boost site clearance for the implementation of the project as soon as it is approved.