The infrastructure ministry will set a new target for stepping up efforts to move power lines underground in the nation and eliminate existing above-ground utility poles.
Specifically, in its envisaged new five-year plan starting in fiscal 2026, which begins next April, the ministry will list sections of emergency transport routes in urban areas for which it aims to complete work to replace utility poles with underground power cables by fiscal 2030, informed sources said. The ministry hopes to formalize the new plan next spring, after discussions by a panel of experts.
The ministry is mainly seeking to remove utility poles along approximately 21,826 kilometers of urban-area emergency transport routes that have a high risk of collapsing in the event of a disaster. As of the end of fiscal 2024, such work had been completed for only 35% of the high-priority areas.
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