Prysmian Group Completes Operations in Vietnam for South East Asia’s Longest Undersea Cable System

Prysmian Group, a world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry, has completed operations for the construction and execution of the submarine power cable link to connect Phu Quoc Island to the national power grid in Vietnam.

The turnkey project refers to a contract awarded in May 2012 by the Vietnamese utility EVNSPC (Southern Power Corporation under Vietnam Electricity) worth a total of Euro 67 million for the design, supply, installation, and commissioning of the submarine interconnection.

Inauguration ceremony for the interconnection between Phu Quoc Island and the Mainland power grid in Ha Tien.

Situated 45 km west of Ha Tien town, Kien Giang province in southern Vietnam, Phu Quoc Island is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam and the submarine cable link plays a major role in the province’s 2020 socio-economic development master plan aimed at making Phu Quoc Island into a special administrative-economic zone by the end of the decade, serving as a national and international center for high-end ecotourism and entertainment, and particularly significant in terms of security and national defense. The Phu Quoc link is the first submarine power cable link installed by a utility company in Vietnam and South East Asia’s longest undersea cable system.

The Phu Quoc cable connection comprises some 56 km of 3x630 mm² 110 kV copper, single wire armoured XLPE insulated submarine cable manufactured in the Group’s worldwide reputed technology excellence centre during 2013. After a long trip from Italy across the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean the Prysmian cable laying vessel “Cable Enterprise” and its team of specialized personnel and equipment installed the submarine cable, which was also successfully commissioned ready for operations.

Thanks to unrivalled knowledge, experience, commitment and expertise, developed in more than 130 years of history as worldwide leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry and in submarine cable technology and execution of turnkey projects, Prysmian was able to successfully complete the project well ahead of schedule, only after two months and just in time to begin operation on the occasion of the 2014 Lunar New Year holiday. Effective from February 2 power supply to the island is provided exclusively by ways of the Group’s cable.

The inauguration ceremony for the interconnection took place on February 6 and was attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Standing Secretary of Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Lê Hồng Anh and several important politicians and dignitaries from the Central Hanoi Government, as well as the Italian Ambassador to Vietnam. “We are proud of having supported EVNSPC and the Vietnamese people in reaching this important goal and that Prysmian was chosen not only as a contractor, but also as a true partner to cooperate with to achieve a common target” stated Marcello Del Brenna, CEO of Prysmian Powerlink in his speech on the occasion.

With this project Prysmian has delivered to Vietnam and its people top edge technology and know-how, the same technology and know-how that helped carrying power to metropolis like New York and San Francisco or delivering renewable power generated offshore to the mainland in Germany and the UK.

Prysmian Group

Prysmian Group is the world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry. With over 130 years of experience, sales of some €8 billion in 2012, about 20,000 employees in 50 countries and 91 plants, the Group is strongly positioned in high-tech markets and offers the widest range of products, services, technologies and know-how. In the Energy sector, Prysmian Group operates in the business of underground and submarine power transmission cables and systems, special cables for applications in many different industrial sectors and medium and low voltage cables for the construction and infrastructure industry. In the Telecom sector, the Group manufactures cables and accessories for the voice, video and data transmission industry, offering a complete range of optical fibres, optical and copper cables and connectivity systems. Prysmian is a public company, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB index.