More incentives for cable undergrounding projects
By Kinh Luan - The Saigon Times Daily
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| A worker removes telecom cables from what looks much like a cobweb in downtown HCMC - Photo: Kinh Luan |
HCMC – The HCMC government will offer more incentives for investors involved in projects to underground overhead power and telecom cables as some pilot projects will be completed in the middle of next month.
City vice chairman Nguyen Trung Tin on Monday threw support behind a proposal by the HCMC Power Corporation to invite more investors to participate in power and telecom cable undergrounding projects in the downtown area to restore the cityscape.
Such projects require huge amounts of capital. According to the corporation, the city will need up to VND3.36 trillion to build ditches for nine kilometers of high-tension cable lines, 300 kilometers of medium-tension lines, and 400 kilometers of low-tension lines in the city center between now and 2015.
In the following five years, the city will have to spend another VND383 billion expanding the plan to outlying districts.
Vice chairman Tin said the city would provide concenssional loans for investors to participate in the plan.
The city will finish work on September 15 on the pilot projects that are ongoing along a 1.3-km stretch of Tran Hung Dao Street in districts 1 and 5, Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1 and six streets in District 3, and in Ben Thanh Market area in District 1, among others.
The cityscape has long been marred by the intricate overhead power and telecom lines. There are around 20 telecom entities using the power transmission lines for their cable systems.