Korea's infrastructure and energy conglomerate LS Group announced Friday that it will take part in building the power grid for a planned city in Bhutan by forming a joint venture with the country’s state-run city development agency.
LS Group signed an agreement in Seoul earlier in the day with Bhutan’s Gelephu Investment and Development Corporation to establish the joint venture LS GIDS Pte. Ltd.
The joint venture will provide essential infrastructure components — such as transformers, energy storage systems and power and communication cables — to support the early development phase of the large-scale planned city project, which will span 2,500 square kilometers in Gelephu, a southern region of Bhutan near the Indian border, LS said.
The signing ceremony took place at LS Group’s headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul, with LS Group Vice Chair Myung Roe-hyun, GIDC CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal and officials from both sides in attendance.
Ahead of the ceremony, GIDC officials visited LS subsidiaries — LS Cable & System and LS Electric — beginning Wednesday to explore various avenues for collaboration.
“The establishment of this joint venture with GIDC lays an important foundation for future-oriented cooperation between LS and Bhutan,” said Vice Chair Myung.
“By participating in the early stages of designing the utility grid and core infrastructure of the city, LS expects to unlock a wide range of new business opportunities in Bhutan.”
Designed to become an economic hub for the region, the city will feature an international airport slated for completion by 2029. It is also expected to host data center facilities powered by Bhutan’s abundant renewable energy resources, particularly hydropower, according to LS.
Given the anticipated demand for a high-capacity power grid, LS plans to leverage its expertise in electrification to pursue further business opportunities in the region, including continued infrastructure support for companies entering the new city.
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
