China’s State Grid Corp won a contract last week to build and operate a 2,500-kilometre power line in Brazil and is now seeking local partners, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

The firm had a bid price of 988 million reais (US$309 million) a year to operate a transmission line connecting the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam to the Brazilian national grid. It was the lowest price presented at an auction on Friday at the São Paulo Stock Exchange, beating Spain’s Abengoa.

“State Grid is seeking a partner in Brazil, given the complexity of the project,” said Ramon Haddad, Vice President for operations at the company’s local unit State Grid Brazil Holding, quoted by financial news agency Bloomberg. He added the project cost was expected to be 7 billion reais.

State Grid was interested in Brazil’s power generation and distribution industries, Bloomberg quoted him as saying.

The Chinese state-owned group won a contract last year with Brazil’s state-controlled power company Eletrobras to build another section of the Belo Monte transmission line, according to the report.

Xinhua reported the latest project of State Grid in Brazil is expected to create 16,800 direct jobs in five Brazilian states. Contract lasts for 30 years.