Agree on the contents of the project funded by KOICA Korea.

Dien Bien Province - After a five-day survey, on the morning of November 29th, at the Dien Bien Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the KOICA Korea Office in Vietnam held a working session with provincial departments and agencies, including the Department of Industry and Trade; the Department of Agriculture and Environment; and the Dien Bien Power Company, to report on the survey results for the implementation of the Project to Enhance Self-Reliance Capacity for Rural Areas through the Construction of Electricity Infrastructure for Difficult Areas in Dien Bien Province.

Báo Điện Biên Phủ•29/11/2025

Scenes from the working session.

The project to enhance self-reliance in rural areas through the construction of electricity infrastructure for disadvantaged regions of Dien Bien province consists of two components: Construction of electricity infrastructure for disadvantaged regions and Rural development.

Specifically, the power infrastructure construction component will involve the installation and operation of 137.63 km of 3-phase, 3-wire 35 kV medium-voltage power distribution lines; 75.77 km of 0.4 kV low-voltage power distribution lines; 49 new transformer substations (35 kV/0.4 kV); and the provision of electrical equipment for each household, including electronic meters, meter protection boxes, power supply cables, overload protection circuit breakers (NFBs), lighting fixtures, and switches. This will contribute to improving the quality of life for 2,484 households not yet connected to the national power grid, as well as neighboring households using unstable power sources.

The Rural Development component provides agricultural equipment to support food security, create livelihoods, and increase income for people; while promoting farmers' participation in community development activities, in line with the Vietnamese Government's new rural development policy. The project has an estimated total investment of approximately US$20 million.

Ms. Won Ji Young, Deputy Country Director of KOICA Korea in Vietnam, discussed the content of the meeting.

During the meeting, the KOICA Korea Office in Vietnam presented a summary report of the survey results for project implementation, clarifying the adjustments and changes between the 2024 feasibility survey and the 2025 implementation survey. Based on this, the KOICA Korea Office in Vietnam provided information on the key aspects of the project as well as the roles and responsibilities of each participating party. Regarding the timeline, the project is expected to be implemented from the fourth quarter of 2026 and completed by the end of 2029.

Previously, from November 24th to 29th, a delegation from the KOICA Korea Office in Vietnam conducted a survey in 17 communes in Dien Bien province.

Leaders of the Department of Industry and Trade discussed and proposed contents related to the project.

During the meeting, leaders from the Departments of Industry and Trade; Agriculture and Environment; and Dien Bien Power Company exchanged views with the KOICA Korea Office in Vietnam on key issues. They requested that KOICA expedite the project's progress by implementing it in a phased manner and deploying components in parallel to ensure consistency. Representatives from the departments also emphasized that equipment selection must fully meet Vietnamese technical standards to ensure long-term operation; and that the projected budget for each component needs to be reviewed.

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