On March 26, 2026, the first 500 kV transmission line pipeline crossing the Yangtze River in China, the Wuhu GIL pipeline, began excavation. As the second Yangtze River power artery after the Sutong GIL pipeline corridor, this project has extremely complex geological conditions and requires crossing silt, sand layers, and weathered rocks.

To this end, State Grid Corporation of China has tailored the "Wanmei Electric Power" super shield tunneling machine: with an excavation diameter of 12.13 meters (the largest under construction in China), a body length of 150 meters, a weight of 2300 tons, and integrated black technologies such as intelligent excavation and atmospheric pressure tool changing. The cutterhead is also painted with the interconnection logo of Gansu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces.

The project adopts a three-dimensional mode of "old lines underground and new lines overhead", which not only does not disturb the river water but also reserves channels for the future. After completion, the original Feifan Line will be relocated to a utility tunnel, and the passage above it will give way to the national "14th Five Year Plan" key project - the Gansu Zhejiang ± 800 kV high-voltage direct current transmission project, to assist in the transmission of green electricity to the east and achieve a balance between ecology and development.Editor/Cheng Liting