China's Qinghai-Tibet grid interconnection project is expected to start operating by the end of October, which will, for the first time, connect Tibet's grid with those in other parts of China, an engineer of the project said Sunday.

The whole project, with a total investment of 16.2 billion yuan (2.54 billion U.S. dollars), consists of three phases, including a 750 KV transmission line from Xining, capital of Qinghai, to Golmud City in the center of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a 400 KV transmission line from Golmud to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, and 220 KV of grid facilities within Tibet.

Ding Yansheng, a deputy general engineer of the project headquarters, said the first-phase construction has been completed and the facilities in the third phase have been put into operation.

The second-phase construction is nearing its end and the whole line will start trial operation after system adjustment in late October, he said.

Currently, Tibet's grid is not linked to any other grids. During the dry season, the region lacks power because most of its power supply comes from hydro power stations.

After the grids are connected, surplus power generated during the flood season will be transmitted to Qinghai or other parts of China via the line while power from elsewhere can be transmitted to Tibet during dry season, he said.