The Union Water and Electricity Company (UWEC) has completed the 400kV transmission line that connects the Fujairah Water and Power Plant and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority network at Al Dhaid.

With the completion of this transmission line, the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) network can use the entire power generation capacity of Fujairah Water and Power Plant (FWPP) to meet the growing power demand in the northern emirates.

The FWPP and the 400kV transmission line are part of the investments being made by UAE Offsets Group through the Union Water and Electricity Company to strengthen the power infrastructure in the northern emirates and to meet the growing water demand in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The project, which was contracted to India's Larsen & Toubro Ltd on a turnkey basis, under the consultancy of Fichtner Consulting Engineers, was completed in less than two years, according to Anwar H. Zuarub, UWEC project manager.

"The 68 kilometre double circuit 400kV overhead power transmission line from the UWEC Fujairah Water and Power Plant to the Al Dhaid substation in Sharjah will support the industrial development of the northern emirates in general and the emirate of Fujairah in particular," Zuarub said.

The new transmission line is the early part of the Emirates National Grid (ENG) and will interconnect the various power grids in the UAE.

Union Water was set up by the Abu Dhabi government in June 2001 with a paid-up capital of Dh1.5 billion.

"In order to complete the project, we had to overcome a host of environmental challenges, including identifying the shortest yet safest route to position the 152 towers, given the rocky and mountainous terrain between Fujairah and Al Dhaid," said V. Kesavan, project manager at Fujairah for Larsen & Toubro.

"Moreover, since the route did not have motor-able access from the highway, access roads for the total route and smaller roads to individual tower locations had to be constructed."

About 75 kilometres of access and other roads were built to complete the project.

Heavier material has been used in the construction of the towers in this project, which were specifically designed to withstand the area's strong wind conditions.

The heaviest structure in the line weighs 107 tonnes. This structure is one of the heaviest transmission line towers in the world and was tested to ensure it met its designed loads at an independent third-party test bed.