Authorities in the central province of Phu Yen expect to complete the rural energy II project (RE II) funded by the World Bank (WB) in the second quarter of this year. Twenty one communes in Dong Hoa, Tay Hoa, Tuy An and Phu Hoa districts have to date finished the project, the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) said, giving no detail on the investment. The province has completed works worth VND93.374 billion ($4.914 million) as part of the project, of which the WB funded VND84.495 billion and the remaining came from local reciprocal capital. The project is part of the national RE II project approved in 2005, which has so far received a combined funding of $420 million from the WB. The RE II has helped reduce the average power leakage in Vietnam’s rural areas to 10% from earlier 20%-35%. The saved electricity volume is equivalent to output generated by a 50-MW power plant that costs a total of VND1.3 trillion.
