Beijing is encouraging private investment in critical infrastructure projects, including two major ultra-high-voltage power lines. Local governments in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Chongqing, and Gansu have issued notices seeking private investors for these projects worth billions of yuan. The lines are set to operate by the end of 2028.
China's government is pushing private capital into infrastructure, marking a key initiative by Beijing to encourage non-state funding. These are the first ultra-high-voltage power line projects to open to private investors since a Beijing directive last November.
One line stretches 1,996km (1,240 miles) from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwest China to Mianyang in Sichuan province, also supplying power to Chongqing municipality. Governments of Xinjiang, Qinghai province, and Chongqing issued separate notices last week, calling for private investors to join the 31.1 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) project alongside the State Grid Corporation of China, a major state-owned energy firm.
Northwestern Gansu province released a similar notice last month for another line from Gansu to Sichuan province, with a planned investment of about 24.6 billion yuan.
Both projects are scheduled to enter operation by the end of 2028. This move reflects China's broader effort to channel private capital into critical infrastructure like railways and nuclear power plants. Su Jian, an economist at Peking University, said such projects help ease local government debt pressures and improve infrastructure efficiency.