Jamuna River 230 kV crossing, Bangladesh. Part 1: Design

The Jamuna River crossing is part of the 230 kV east-west interconnection project which interconnects the east and west networks of the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The purpose of the interconnection is to export cheaper (gas-generated) energy from the eastern grid to the western grid, to improve system security and, in the future, to permit west-east transfer of energy from future nuclear and coal-fired plants in the West. Part 1 of the paper describes the design of the crossing which consists of ten equal transmission-line spans of 1220 m carried on 111 rn-high towers with the two circuits arranged in delta formation. The eleven towers are supported on reinforced concrete caissons sunk some 100 m into the bed of the Jamuna River, which is about 12 km wide at the site of the crossing and has a maximum recorded flow of 92 300 m3/s. Part 2 deals with the method of sinking the caissons, the erection of the towers and the conductor stringing, and the construction problems encountered.