Major Project Breaks Ground in Huangpu: 2,681 km Tibet–Guangdong UHVDC Transmission Project

On September 16, the Xizang–Guangdong Ultra-High Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) transmission project, a key interprovincial power transmission initiative under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, officially broke ground.

Starting in Xizang and passing through Yunnan and Guangxi before reaching Guangdong, the transmission line stretches about 2,681 kilometers. Four converter stations will be built in Changdu and Nyingchi in Xizang, as well as in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong. Once fully operational in 2029, green electricity from Xizang will reach the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area in just nine milliseconds.

The project is Guangzhou’s first investment exceeding 10 billion yuan in 2025. Located in the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, it involves a total investment of approximately 53.2 billion yuan and is expected to generate an annual industrial output value of 18 billion yuan upon completion. It will supply Guangzhou with over 20 billion kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually.

"Truly unexpected, the approval process was accelerated by nearly three months compared with the usual timeline," recalled the project leader, reflecting on the initial stages of the project’s implementation. After a casual remark to investment promotion staff in the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, they immediately took the initiative to coordinate and collaborate with multiple parties, shortening the usual four-month review period to just 40 days.

As a major cross-regional energy project, obtaining anti-monopoly approval from the State Administration for Market Regulation was the first step. Typically, the process from application to approval takes about four months. Instead of “waiting for approval,” Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District actively worked to “race for approval,” enabling this “green energy engine” to start ahead of schedule.

By 2029, when the project comes fully online, the clean energy base in southeastern Xizang will deliver more than 43 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to the power load centers of the Greater Bay Area. This output is equivalent to about half of the annual power generation of the Three Gorges Dam—and 100% of it is clean energy. It will replace roughly 12 million tons of standard coal consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 33 million tons.