Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Friday witnessed the groundbreaking of two multimillion-dollar projects in the southern province of Kien Giang, home to the famous resort island of Phu Quoc.

One of the projects is to set up a cable car system to link An Thoi Town and Hon Thom Isle, a commune of Phu Quoc Island, also a district administered by the Kien Giang administration.

The other is the construction of a sea-crossing electricity transmission line from the mainland to the province’s Lai Son Island.

Upon completion, the 7.9km cable car system will become the longest of its kind in the world, according to its developer, Sun Group. 

The cable car project was carried out along with the construction of a recreational and entertainment complex, which collectively cost about VND4.9 trillion (US$218 million) in its first phase.

The system will have 70 cabins each of which is capable of carrying 30 passengers.

Sun Group is also the developer of the Fansipan cable car system in the northern province of Lao Cai, which is holding the record of being the longest in the world.

The An Thoi – Hon Thom system will be built with the most modern cable car technology imported from Austria-based Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, known for building thousands of aerial ropeways worldwide.

The project is expected to be completed by April 30, 2017.  

PM Dung said the project will help boost local socio-economic growth, improve the living conditions of locals, and attract more investment in the province.

In the meantime, the sea-crossing 110-kV electric transmission system project is expected to be put into operation by April 30, 2016.

The line is expected to be 43.9 km long, of which 24.5 km will be above sea and supported by 48 steel poles.

The project is estimated to cost VND468 billion ($20.8 million).

Lai Son Island is the largest and most populous commune of Kien Hai District, with a population of more than 7,000 people.

The island is located about 35 nautical miles west of the provincial capital city of Rach Gia.

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