Vientiane, February 27th (Xinhua) — The launch ceremony of the Laos section of the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project was held on the 26th in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. After the project is completed, it will greatly enhance the power interconnection and mutual assistance between China and Laos.
Laotian Prime Minister Song Sai and government officials, as well as representatives of the Chinese government and enterprises, jointly attended the launch ceremony. During his speech, the Minister of Energy and Mines of Laos, Bo Sai, stated that the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project is a strategic energy project that will better support the economic development of Laos and further expand the interconnection of power grids and mutual assistance between Laos and southern provinces in China.
Fang Hong, the Chinese ambassador to Laos, said that the project is another major achievement of deepening practical cooperation and jointly building the “the Belt and Road” between China and Laos following the China Laos railway. Electricity, as the “vanguard” of economic and social development, is a key support for enhancing people’s well-being and promoting regional prosperity. We must continue to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and countries, with the construction of the China Laos Economic Corridor as the main axis, and continue to deepen cooperation in the field of energy and electricity between the two sides through power grid interconnection.
The China Laos 500 kV Interconnection Project is a major engineering project included in the China Laos Community of Shared Future Action Plan, scheduled to be completed and put into operation in 2026. At that time, the two-way power mutual assistance capacity between China and Laos is expected to reach 1.5 million kilowatts, achieving a clean power transmission scale of about 3 billion kilowatt hours.
It is reported that the Laos and China sections of the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project are respectively invested and constructed by EDL-T and China Southern Power Grid Corporation. The project will build a new 500 kV substation in Laos, connecting Namo in Oudomxay Province, Laos and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province, China through a 183.5-kilometer cross-border transmission line. It also plans to construct two 230 kV lines to connect the northern backbone network of Laos. After being put into operation, it will effectively help Laos develop into a clean energy interconnection center in the Lancang Mekong region.