Aerial Transport Team Powers Green Construction

Recently, at the site of the 220 kV Wanhu Line renovation project in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, four heavy-lift drones formed an “aerial transport team,” precisely delivering 400 kg of concrete to a mountaintop tower construction site. The entire process—from loading and flight to automated pinpoint delivery—took just six minutes, achieving intelligent, efficient, and eco-friendly material transportation.

Construction workers transport materials via a drone fleet

Photo by Peng Shengbin

The 220 kV Wanhu Line renovation project is part of the Jiangxi Provincial Economic and Social Development Plan and has been included in the province’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the power industry. The line spans Zhanggong District and Ganxian District in Ganzhou City, as well as Wan’an County in Ji’an City, with 51.6 kilometers of new overhead lines and 123 power towers.

Construction workers transport materials via a drone fleet

Photo by Peng Shengbin

To overcome the challenges of transportation in mountainous terrain, State Grid Ganzhou Power Supply Company has actively promoted the transition to green construction. For the first time in the province, a drone fleet was deployed to transport construction materials and tools for a 220 kV transmission line project. This innovative approach has created a green construction model characterized by ‘zero road damage, zero vegetation destruction, and zero ecological disruption.’

The four heavy-lift drones can transport approximately 60 tons of materials and tools per day, raising transport efficiency from a “days” scale to an “hours” scale. For each tower, material transport efficiency increased fourfold, tool transfer time dropped from four hours to one hour, and labor costs fell by 70%. This not only improved transport safety but also helped preserve the ecological environment of the protected area.(Text by Liu Yiqun and Zhang Min)