Sudan, located in northeastern Africa, is one of the most electricity-deprived countries in the world. In the past, the country’s power supply relied primarily on small power stations, which not only caused environmental pollution but also consumed significant amounts of energy.
Before the construction of the Sudan Garri (El Jaili) Power Plant, the entire country’s installed power capacity was only 600,000 kilowatts, leading to severe electricity shortages and an aging power grid.
In 2000, Harbin Electric Corporation (HE) conducted research into Sudan’s power market. In November of the same year, HE signed an Engineering Procurement Construction contract with the National Electricity Corporation of Sudan for the “Sudan Garri 2×206B Combined Cycle Power Plant Project”.
The first phase was China’s first large-scale power equipment project in Africa and marked HE’s initial venture into the African power market. The project utilized light diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as dual fuels. Due to the flammable and explosive nature of LPG and the challenges associated with its storage, the technical requirements for LPG storage tanks and heating systems were high, making construction particularly difficult.
Upon completion, the plant became the largest of its kind in Sudan. In 2003, Sudan faced severe power shortages due to a drought that significantly reduced hydropower generation. The successive commissioning of the Garri power plant units, along with transmission lines and substation projects, greatly alleviated the power shortage, with the plant units becoming the backbone of Sudan’s national grid.
