On July 24, 2021, the Maldives Malé Ring Network (Phase I) project, which was contracted by the Northwest Research Institute of Energy China, was fully integrated and put into operation, becoming the highest voltage transmission and transformation project in the Maldives. China has no history of high-voltage power grids.

The Male Island ring network project consists of three 132 kV substations on the Maldives’ capital, Male Island, Hulhumale Island, and Hulhum Airport Island, 132 kV cable lines between the three stations, and the connection between the substations and the power stations on each island. The 11 kV cable line consists of three parts.

Before the construction of the project, the three islands of the Maldives capital were developed by each island’s own diesel power station, using 11 kV lines for power supply, and the power supply capacity cannot be guaranteed. The commissioning of the project has realized the power interconnection of the three islands in the Male region, improved the power supply capacity and reliability of the region, and has epoch-making significance for the construction of its power grid.

Keywords: overseas projects, energy projects

During the implementation of the project, the new crown epidemic was encountered, and the implementation of the project faced severe challenges. The project department organized various construction parties in batches before and after the epidemic, overcoming the difficulties in resource allocation during the epidemic, the high cost of resource allocation, tight construction time and difficulty, and many other unfavorable factors, focusing on epidemic prevention on the one hand, production on the other hand, optimizing resource allocation, and advancing the project. The construction has realized the smooth integration of the project into operation, and achieved both epidemic prevention and control and project implementation, and won unanimous praise from the owners and supervisors.Editor/Xing Wentao