wiredInUSA December 2020

HVDC line nears completion

Angola connectivity to see a boost

A key part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Matiari to Lahore 660kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) project is nearing completion. The 886km transmission line runs from the south-west to the north-east of Pakistan, passing through the provinces of Sindh and Punjab. It is the first 660kV DC project overseas for the State Grid Company of China (SGCC) with completely independent intellectual property rights. A power outage in northern Pakistan in 2015, which resulted in 2,000 people dying from dehydration and heat stroke, was a chief driver for the transmission project. In 2015 China and Pakistan agreed to form a “1+4” cooperation structure, with the CPEC at the center and Gwadar Sea Port, energy, transport infrastructure, and industrial cooperation being the four key areas for common development. The HVDC transmission line was planned within the CPEC, between SGCC and the National Transmission and Despatch Company in Pakistan.

Nzadi Consortium and the submarine cable engineering firm WFN Strategies have started work on the Nzadi Cable project in Angola. The Nzadi Cable system will comprise a main trunk cable from Luanda to Cabinda, with a branching unit for future connection to Soyo, as well as a potential northward expansion to both the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It will consist of a fiber count of up to 14 fiber-pairs. The system is expected to enter service in late 2023. According to Domingos Coelho, chairman of Nzadi Cable System’s board of directors, the project is committed to utilizing as much local content as possible, so benefitting local businesses for the provision of the civil works in the Luanda, Soyo and Cabinda provinces of Angola. In the mid- to long-term, services are expected to be contracted to local businesses for the provision of water, power, infrastructure security, and dry plant maintenance, as well as direct employment for predominantly young professionals who will be required to operate and administer the subsea network.

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wiredInUSA - December 2020