An agreement on investment in a technical transformation project at Kaiyuan Power Plant has been signed in this capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province recently.

It marks the start of the second major project in China's drive to transmit electricity from energy-rich western China to its power-deficient eastern provinces.

The first project, which began operation on January 3 this year, will provide 300,000 kilowatts of electricity to Guangdong Province in the dry season and 600,000 kilowatts during the flood season each year.

The current project will cost an investment of 2.6 billion yuan which will be shared by five companies in Yunnan and Beijing. Four 300,000-kilowatt generating units will be installed. The first generating unit is scheduled to start operation by 2003 and the second one the following year.

Yunnan Province has 600 rivers with water resources capable of installing generating units of 90 million kilowatts, ranking first in China. Yunnan power grid plans to provide Guangdong with 300, 000 kilowatts of electricity in the dry season and 600,000 kilowatts during the flood season this year.

When the Nuozhadu Power Plant began operation in 2015, the province will transmit eight million kilowatts of electricity to provinces in eastern China.

In addition, the Jinghong Power Plant will transmit 1.5 million kilowatts of electricity a year to Thailand by 2013.

(Xinhua 01/25/2001)