VietNamNet Bridge – On Tuesday, the authorities of Con Dao Island District, in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, signed a principle contract on power purchasing with a foreign investor who is building a wind power plant on Con Dao.

Tourists on Con Dao island.

The US $20 million Con Dao Wind Power Plant, built by the Switzerland Aerogie Group, is scheduled to become operational in 2010. The 7.5MW plant will run for 30 years with two changes of equipment. This is the first wind power plant built on an island in Vietnam.

The Vice Chairman of the Con Dao People’s Committee, Bui Van Binh, said Con Dao has only one diesel-fueled power plant which can serve the daily use and production of ice for seacooking catching. Annually, the government has had to compensate for the losses of many billion dong for this power plant.

It is estimated that Con Dao Island’s need for power will rise by 48% a year and the island will have a serious shortage of power in the near future. The wind power project is praised for meeting the island’s demand for power while it is also an environmentally-friendly work.

According to a comprehensive plan, by 2020 Con Dao Island will have 50,000 residents, ten times more than the current number. The island will become a modern tourism site, which will welcome between 500,000-700,000 visitors per year. As the tourism industry will be the island’s key area in the future, many resorts and tourism industries will be built on the island.

The Hung