Hyundai E&C to build HVDC transmission line in Saudi Arabia

Hyundai E&C will construct a 369-kilometer section of a 1,089-kilometer-long HVDC transmission line in Saudi Arabia, with completion expected by January 2027.

This map image provided by Hyundai Engineering & Construction shows the company's project to lay power transmission lines in Saudi Arabia. [HYUNDAI E&C]

Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C), a major Korean builder, said Tuesday it has won a 1 trillion won ($713.9 million) order to lay power transmission lines in Saudi Arabia.

Under the deal with National Grid SA, a subsidiary under Saudi Electricity, Hyundai E&C will construct the first 369-kilometer (229-mile) section of the 500-kilovolt, 1,089-kilometer-long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and the Kudmi converter station in the country's southwestern region, according to a regulatory filing by Hyundai E&C.

The project will be the first HVDC double bi-pole transmission line structure in the country, with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by January 2027.

The HVDC technology converts alternating current (AC) power from power plants into high-voltage direct current for long-distance transmission. This method reduces energy loss and is compatible with AC systems of varying frequencies, enhancing stability and efficiency.

Hyundai E&C has a long history of projects in the Middle Eastern country, having completed 33 transmission line projects since its first in 1976.

Last year, it clinched a deal to build HVDC transmission lines between Saudi Arabia's new city of Neom and the country's western port of Yanbu.

Yonhap