Recently, in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, NORINCO International officially signed the EPC general contract for the GUBA-ASSOSA-II 400 kV substation project with the Ethiopian National Electric Power Company. Ashebir, CEO of Ethiopian National Electric Power Company, and Du Xiaodong, Deputy General Manager of NORINCO International, attended the signing ceremony. This project is a key project for Ethiopia's national ultra-high voltage backbone power grid, marking a significant breakthrough for NORINCO International in the East African power transmission and transformation market. From the TEKEZE hydropower station in 2003 to the current 400 kV substation, this Chinese company has been deeply involved in Ethiopia's power industry for over 20 years.

Improve the architecture of the ultra-high voltage backbone power grid

The GUBA-ASSOSA-II 400 kV substation project is a key strategic project for Ethiopia to improve the ultra-high voltage backbone power grid architecture and optimize the national power layout. After the project is completed and put into operation, it will enhance the transmission capacity and operational stability of the regional power grid, improve the efficiency of national power resource allocation, and effectively guarantee the electricity demand of local industries, cities, and people's livelihoods. The substation is located in the western border area of Ethiopia, and its construction is expected to support local mining development and new energy consumption. It is an important node for the extension of Ethiopia's national power grid to the west.

Upgrading from hydropower station to substation

NORINCO International has been expanding its presence in the Ethiopian electricity market for over 20 years. In 2003, NORINCO International signed a contract for the TEKEZE hydropower station, with a contract amount of 37 million US dollars. The installed capacity of the power station accounted for one-third of the total installed capacity of the country at that time, and it was known as the Three Gorges Project of Ethiopia. In 2013, NORINCO International signed a contract with Ethiopian Electric Power Company for the GDYW-2 400 kV transmission line project with a total amount of 230 million US dollars, including a 355 km 400 kV transmission line turnkey project, a 48 km 230 kV transmission line, and a 26 km 132 kV transmission line material supply. From TEKEZE hydropower station to GDYW-2 transmission line, and now to the EPC of GUBA-ASSOSA-II substation, NORINCO International's power business map in Ethiopia is upgrading from single project contracting to full voltage level and full chain coverage. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, substation, ultra-high voltage

From channel builder to system integrator

The Ethiopian power infrastructure market is entering a period of ultra-high voltage backbone network encryption. From the GDYW-2 transmission line to the GUBA-ASSOSA-II substation, from the BDWC substation of Shanghai Electric to the 400 kV switching station of the Koisha project, Ethiopia is systematically improving the national backbone power grid with the 400 kV ultra-high voltage level as the core. NORINCO International started in 2003, and each contract is built on the performance reputation of the previous project. The transmission line solves the problem of how to deliver electricity, while the substation solves the problem of how to convert voltage and dispatch electricity. Participating in the construction of core nodes means that the role of Chinese enterprises in the Ethiopian power grid system has been upgraded from channel builders to system integrators. For Chinese enterprises with ultra-high voltage transmission and transformation EPC capabilities, this is a deterministic incremental market driven by national level power planning and with guaranteed funding.Editor/Gao Xue