Promoting the development of the “smokeless industry”

After decades of living with an unstable and expensive power source, people and businesses in Con Dao are extremely excited to receive grid power from the mainland. No more rotating power cuts, enduring noise, and pollution from diesel generators, the life of the entire special zone has now truly “turned a new page”.

National grid brings with it expectation of rapid growth in tourism and service industries for Con Dao special zone. Photo: Ngoc Linh

Since the memorable milestone of "supplying power to the island" in February 2014, over the past 11 years, Phu Quoc has undergone a strong change and transformation. The "smokeless industry" here has developed spectacularly, helping Phu Quoc continuously enter the world's most prestigious tourism rankings. It can be said that the  Ha Tien - Phu Quoc 110kV submarine cable project has helped people and businesses in Phu Quoc "change their lives" thanks to a safe and stable power source. In particular, it has helped bring in an additional income of over VND200 billion/year due to a sharp decrease in electricity prices: from an average of VND5,060/kWh, down to nearly 50% equivalent to the average electricity price on the mainland.

Affirming the capacity to build the most complex power transmission projects

The power supply project from the national grid to Con Dao is considered to be the most complex of all EVN's island power supply projects to date, with a total construction time of less than 9 months. To meet the schedule, the project must be divided into many small packages and simultaneously constructed for all 5 types of construction, including: overhead lines on land; overhead lines on sea; submarine cables; submarine cables on islands; GIS transformer stations on islands.

GIS substation on island during final stages of completion, July 2025. Photo: Ngoc Linh

Previous submarine cable projects in Vietnam, especially the submarine cable laying part, were all carried out by foreign contractors. Today, Vietnamese contractors, typically PC1 Group Joint Stock Company, have mastered the technology and, for the first time, constructed a project with this completely new technology, demonstrating the technical mastery of domestic enterprises.

Converted ship serving work of laying submarine cables across sea from mainland to Con Dao. Photo source: EVN Communications Department

With a length of 77.7km, the project to bring grid electricity to Con Dao officially "owns" the longest submarine cable across the sea in Southeast Asia and the largest cable burial depth in Vietnam (52 ​​meters below sea level), and is also the first time the contractor has used 61m long concrete pile foundations for an offshore power project.

The national grid will add strength to socio-economic development, especially the "smokeless industry", making Con Dao an international eco-tourism and spiritual destination. This is not only an achievement of a single project, but also a common pride, contributing significantly to the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country./.

Translator: Mạnh Hùng