ISLAMABAD: Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Co. Ltd. (PMLTC) is employing Pakistani engineers for smooth transfer of technology under the project agreement, CEO Zhang Lei said.
She was talking to Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) Tauseef Farooqi during his visit of the converter station of Pakistan’s first ever High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Line in Lahore.
The transmission line is the first of its kind in Pakistan having a capacity of 4,000 megawatts at ±660 kV from south to north, NEPRA said in a statement.
Lahore-Matiari is the first transmission line project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to transmit electricity from power stations in Sindh to load centres in Punjab. It will also transmit electricity from the indigenous coal-based power plants under construction in Thar district of Sindh under CPEC.
Chairman of NEPRA was briefed by CEO PMLTC on the functions of the converter station, its management, safety and security measures and employment of skilled and unskilled Pakistani labor. She said that as the project is on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, therefore, the initiative of employing Pakistani engineers has been taken to smoothly process the same for transfer of technology and eventual handing-over to Pakistan after 25 years of service. The Chairman appreciated the efforts of the Chinese company and also ensured that NEPRA being custodian of the interests of the consumers as well as investors will provide a level playing field to all and will welcome such mega projects in future with the help of the private sector. -Agencies
