As part of a larger contract, Gruner Stucky Ltd  was commissioned to do the engineering design services for the construction of a 220 kV overhead transmission line between the NRO substation and the Kakula in the Democtratic Republic of Congo.

As part of this mission, Gruner provided the electrical engineering design and works supervision services for the project which included the construction of 33 km of HV transmission lines with 93 lattice towers, double circuits with power per circuit of 500 MVA, single conductor 851 mm2 Aster, OPW 48 fibres and GSW.

The project also included the construction of 220 kV NRO AIS substation (New West Distributor), located in the Gécamines concession. The 220 kV NRO substation is supplied by the Kolwezi (SCK) 220 kV converter station in input-output and will supplied in electricity the Kamoa and Sicomines mining customers.

The main characteristics of NRO's 220 kV substation are as follows:

• the substation platform, a service building, a SNEL house
• the two 220 kV busbars
• the six (6) 220 kV line feeders: 2 SCK bays / 2 Sicomines spans (KAPATA) /2 Kamoa - Kakula spans (KCS)
• the busbar coupling feeder
• the two (2) auxiliary transformer bays made up of six (6) 160 kVA 220 / 0.23 kV SSVT transformers

HV Electrical design and engineering services

Gruner provided the following services during the design phases:

• the Preliminary design of the transmission line
• the elaboration of the Tender and final design (technical specifications) and the preparation of the tender documents,
• Support to the client for the Procurement process

During the construction and commissioning phase, Gruner provided project supervision and contract supervision including approval of construction drawings followed by the supervision of the commissioning and completion. 

All contract documents were diligently prepared in accordance with international standards and regulations which enabled the client to successfully award turnkey contracts for the construction of the 220 kV NRO to Kakula transmission line and the 220 kV NRO AIS NRO substation. Gruner also ensured that all necessary checks were made in order to ensure a smooth commissioning process which was eventually completed on 14th December 2020 and the tie-in to 220 kV NRO substation was finalized by 1st December 2021.

The video below shows some of the works done up until August 2023.

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