As electricity shortage is seen in the 2006-2010 period, Vietnam has to build more power plants and import more electricity from China, Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday.

The state-owned Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the country's biggest electricity producer, predicted there will be severe shortage between March and June next year, and the situation will become worse in the 2007-2009 period.

The corporation plans to import an electricity output of 770 million kWh in 2006, 1.6 billion kWh in 2007 and 1.9 billion kWh in 2008.

The EVN assumed that Vietnam should invest some 1.65 billion US dollars in upgrading existing power plants and building new facilities fueled by gas and fuel oil, so that the country will have additional 2,300 mw in the next three years.

By constructing more power plants, Vietnam hopes to increase its electricity capacity to 25,000-26,000 mw in 2010 from the current 11,400 mw, meeting demand for its socio-economic development.

Now, 95.4 percent of communes and nearly 91.3 percent of households in the country have access to the national electricity grid.

Source: Xinhua