Slow site clearance has hindered NPT’s construction of a 25 km long, 500 kV line that will connect the 2,280 MW Mong Duong power centre in Vietnam’s northern province of Quang Ninh to the national grid. The delay is likely to affect the 1,240 MW Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant and the 1,080 MW Mong Duong 1 plant, which are scheduled to be commissioned in March 2014 and the first quarter of 2015, respectively. Meanwhile, NPT has energised a 2,000 A series capacitor at the 500 kV Ha Tinh substation. The recently commissioned works are part of a larger project that aims to increase the transmission capacity of the Da Nang–Ha Tinh line; it also includes the installation of four 2,000 A series capacitors at the Ha Tinh, Vung Ang, and Da Nang substations. The project that is expected to cost around 397 billion dong will use equipment supplied by General Electric (GE).
