A pylon on Kong Tang Lamu Mountain Photo: VCG

On the 5,342-meter-high Kong Tang Lamu Mountain in Gyirong County, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Chinese State Grid Corp finished construction of a 9AN40 steel pylon as part of a mega power project in the region on Tuesday, making it the highest pylon in the world.

The completion of the pylon marks a big step toward completing a national mega power project that aims to build a 1,689-kilometer-long electric transmission line on the world's highest plateau to connect Ngari Prefecture - the westernmost area of Tibet - with the national grid.

The 9AN40 pylon was a particularly challenging aspect of the project, given its altitude, according to media reports.

Twenty elite construction workers would start to climb the mountain every morning with oxygen bottles, because they took nearly one hour to reach the construction site from the road, even though it is only two kilometers away, The Paper reported.

"The construction was very difficult, we had to replenish ourselves with oxygen every two hours, or we would get high altitude sickness," The Paper quoted a worker on the project as saying.

According to the report, all of the pylons are expected to be finished by the end of July. The test will start from August, and the whole mega power project, with total investment of 7.4 billion yuan, is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

The project is part of China's efforts to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Once it is finished, the power grid in Ngari Prefecture will be connected to the national grid, which is expected improve the usage of electricity for 380,000 people in the region.