The cornerstone of the Graça Aranha Silvânia Energy Transmission (GATE) project was laid on June 30, 2025, during an event in Goiás that brought together executives from State Grid Brazil Holding (SGBH) and federal and regional government officials. The event officially marked the start of construction on the Silvânia converter substation in Goiás.
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin sent a video in which he positively highlighted the project in a special message to SGBH staff:
"(GATE is) an investment that reflects the confidence of foreign investors in the Brazilian economy and will create more than 20,000 jobs. [...] Through Sun Tao, President of State Grid, I send a warm embrace to everyone who made this great project possible," said Alckmin, also Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services.
In turn, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira – who was traveling abroad – read a message from the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, via video conference:
"We have projects and a vision for the future, consolidated in the New PAC, a major structural works plan. And we have an interconnected system that is the envy of the world—and which is being further strengthened with this major investment. This is one of the largest Chinese contributions to infrastructure projects outside of China itself," Lula said, according to the text read by Silveira.
The mayor of Silvânia (Carlos Mayer) and the acting governor (Daniel Lima) defined that the new transmission line will bring progress and new opportunities to the region.
The GATE project will expand the flow of clean energy generated in the Northeast—from wind, solar, and hydroelectric sources—to the Central-West, Southeast, and South regions of the country. The project includes a 1,468-km ultra-high-voltage (800 kV) direct current transmission line between the municipalities of Graça Aranha (MA) and Silvânia (GO), passing through the state of Tocantins. With the capacity to serve approximately 12 million people, completion is scheduled for 2029.
