The foundation stone laying ceremony of a power-transmission and transformation line project undertaken by China was held in Sudan on Saturday. The project is the largest power-transmission and transformation line project ever started in Sudan. The line has a total length of 1,776 kilometers and costs nearly $400 million.

More than 1,000 people including Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, project manager, local officials as well as Chinese officials attended the ceremony. Local people celebrated the occasion by killing animals and chanting folk songs in line with local custom.

The project manager said the project was undertaken by a capable Chinese company - Harbin Power Station Co. Ltd. Once the project was completed it would bring light to most regions in Sudan. It would be of great help to the economic construction in Sudan. He believed that the project would be successfully completed by 2007 as scheduled. By then a grand ceremony would be held at the same place. He said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chinese government and people for their long-standing support and help in both political and economic terms."

The power-transmission and transformation line project is the supporting project of a dam project under construction. The dam is called "Sudan's Three Gorges Project" by local people. Once the dam is completed it will essentially solve the problem of power shortage in Sudan. It is also one of the largest overseas water conservancy and electricity projects undertaken by China.

By People's Daily Online