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

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

The 437-km networkwill increase the electricity back-up capacity for the southern part ofthe 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 millionUSD), funded from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Bank for Industryand Trade (Vietinbank), Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and otherfinancial resources.

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

By mid August this year, land clearances werecompleted to give constructors space for 901 of the 926 electric polesneeded 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 southernand central highland localities to facilitate the construction of the500kv power line.

Previously, work was delayed dueto reported difficulties in completing land clearances to make room forthe expansive construction project.

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

NguyenDuc Tuyen, head of the project management board of Central PowerProjects, urged contractors to speed up and ensure they could provideenough of the crucial poles on time.-VNA