POWERCHINA-built Angola SK power transmission: pioneer to BRI

The China Construction Industry Association recently announced the 31 winners of the "2018 China Construction Engineering Luban Prize (Overseas Projects)." The Angola Soyo-Kapary (SK) power transmission and transformation project was included on the list.

The project was undertaken by POWERCHINA's subsidiary Sinohydro Engineering Bureau 4 Co and Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co (TBEA) in the EPC mode.

This is the first time that Sinohydro Engineering Bureau 4 Co has won the Luban Prize for overseas projects since it entered the international market in 2002.

The project features the highest voltage standard, the highest voltage level, and the longest transmission distance in the Africa region.

The project is located in the province of Zaire and the northernpart of Luanda, the capital of Angola. It is regarded as a "lifeline project" that ensures the supply of electricity to the capital city and the entire northern region.

It is also a pioneer electric power project and demonstration project to practice the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa, showing the "going global" capabilities of Chinese equipment and Chinese technologies, as well as their integration with international standards.

The project covers a total area of 1.128 million square meters with an investment of 7.07 billion yuan ($1.05 billion). The building area amounts to 7,098 square meters.

The project mainly consists of nine substations, 25 sets of 400 kV main transformers, and eight sets of 220 kV main transformers. The total length of the transmission line is 1,020 km with a total of 2,539 towers. The main equipment and auxiliary equipment were designed and manufactured in China.

The project was implemented in two phases. The first phase started constructionon July 1, 2014 and was put into operation on Dec 2, 2016. The second phase started in September 2016 and was completed on Dec 16, 2017.

The Soyo-Kaparypower transmission and transformation project in Angola [Photo/POWERCHINA]