Xinjiang electric supplier follows Belt and Road

Tebian carries out large projects in Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East

Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co Ltd, China's leading energy equipment producer, announced that construction of the iconic Angola backbone grid is to wind up in less than 10 months, helping the firm tap the prosperous international market in Central Asia and Africa.

The $1.18 billion project, which was launched in 2013, is one of the biggest projects Chinese companies ever engaged in Africa, linking Angola's electrical facilities together and easing its power shortage, according to TBEA.

TBEA, based in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is a global manufacturer of high-performance transformers which started business 28 years ago. Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, it is seeking a greater share of the power infrastructure business in Central Asia and Africa. The company won the contract for the $500 million state grid construction project in Tajikistan and a $580 million north-south grid construction project in Kyrgyzstan. The latter is the largest energy deal so far between China and Kyrgyzstan.

"We have a great geographic advantage because Xinjiang is at the core area of the Belt and Road Initiative. The neighboring countries share a similar culture with us and all of them are in great need of high-level electrical facilities," said Zhang Xin, chairman of TBEA. "We are honored to share our world-level technology and knowhow with them, benefiting both sides."

A source from the company said that it has provided equipment and service for more than 60 countries, including Pakistan, Russia and India.

In 2014, TBEA even helped set up an ultra-high voltage transformer research base and industrial park in Vadodara, India, at which 95 percent employees are locals.

 Workers from TBEA Shenyang Transformer Group Co assemble equipment in a plant in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Zhang Wenkui / For China Daily