On the morning of February 5, 2026, at an altitude of 100 meters in Mohan Town, a border town in Yunnan Province, the last bundle of wires completed cross-border traction docking. With this historic 'cloud high five', the transmission lines of the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project have achieved full physical connectivity. This is the highest voltage level cross-border transmission channel between China and Laos, marking a significant breakthrough in the construction of the "Power Silk Road".

Ecological priority, challenging the limits of the 'kingdom of animals and plants'

The project crosses tropical rainforests and multiple national nature reserves, and is referred to by the builders as an extreme challenge completed in the "kingdom of flora and fauna". To maximize the protection of the ecology, the construction team innovatively adopted a coordinated transportation scheme between helicopters and large drones, and for the first time applied the "four machine joint lifting" technology of heavy-duty drones on a large scale, breaking through the bottleneck of transporting large tower materials weighing 200 to 600 kilograms per trip. This technology has lifted over 5000 tons of materials, reduced the construction of construction roads by 3.2 kilometers, reduced deforestation by 103 acres, and reduced construction disturbance in protected areas by more than 90%. From optimizing the path during the design phase to reduce the proportion of rainforest crossing from 32% to 20%, to deploying an intelligent warning system in the Asian elephant activity area to achieve "human elephant staggered", to fully implementing measures such as topsoil stripping and reuse, wastewater purification, and waste disposal, the concept of ecological protection runs through the entire project.

Hard connectivity promotes people to people communication and cultivates local technological strength

Engineering construction is not only a "hard connection" in terms of facilities, but also a "heart connection" between the two peoples. On the construction site deep in the rainforest, Chinese experts lived and ate with Laotian employees, and trained dozens of Laotian local power technology talents through mentoring. During the project, hundreds of job opportunities were created for the local area. The experience of two generations of the Lao engineer Verasai Sailongxing's family epitomizes his father's long-term work in EDL, while Sailongxing himself has successively participated in the construction of the China Laos railway and the power grid project. I came from the railway to the power grid and personally experienced the most important cooperation process between the two countries, "said Sai Longxing. This line can make the power supply in my hometown more stable, which makes our predecessors in the power industry feel gratified and makes our work particularly meaningful.

Regional energy artery, jointly building new development channels

The project connects the provinces of Oudomxay and Langnanta in Laos and Yunnan Province in China, with a total length of 177.5 kilometers. It is a major project included in the China Laos Community of Shared Future Action Plan. The project is scheduled to be fully put into operation in April 2026, and after it is put into operation, it will form a bidirectional power mutual assistance capacity of 1.5 million kilowatts, with an average annual transmission of about 3 billion kilowatt hours of clean electricity, becoming a green channel for power interconnection and clean energy consumption in the Lancang Mekong region. On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Laos, the power cooperation between the two countries has continued to deepen for 16 years. From Nantahe No.1 Hydropower Station to the power supply project of the China Laos Railway, from the 230 kV northern Laos power grid to the current 500 kV interconnection project, this project is another landmark achievement of the high-quality joint construction of the the Belt and Road between the two countries after the China Laos Railway, which will significantly improve the regional energy security guarantee and optimal allocation capacity. Keywords: International Latest News, International News Latest News

At present, the project has entered the subsequent installation and commissioning stage. This power silk road spanning mountains and rivers will not only deliver clean electricity in the future, but also a solid commitment to shared development and ecological protection between the two countries.Editor/Gao Xue