Thousands of Khmer households in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have been connected to the national power grid following the completion of a project.

The project started in 2011 at a cost of nearly VND 470 billion (USD 21 million), aiming to bring electricity to 34,915 households, mostly Khmer households.

Thousands of Khmer households in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh have been connected to the national grid. (Photo for illustration)

Khmer people account for 30 percent of Tra Vinh’s population, living mostly in rural, remote and disadvantaged areas.

Electricity has improved the living standards of the people in these households as well as helping local governments speed up socio-economic development.

Huynh Van Thao, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development division at the Tra Cu district, said during 2015-2020, the district plans to convert 5,000 hectares of rice, gardens and mangoes into crops with higher-added value.

The source of power will allow the locals to use machines to serve the work, he said.

Kim Pinh, Vice Chairman of the Da Loc commune People’s Committee, said Khmer-resided hamlets like Huong Phu A, Huong Phu B and Huong Phu C have restructured their agriculture since being connected to the national grid.

Nguyen Trung Hoang, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said with the project going into operation, 264,227 households, or 98.48 percent of total households, are connected to electricity.

Source: VNA