Agreement to import 1,000MW from Iran inked

Project completion to take three years; Iran to provide 70% funding.

LAHORE: The spokesman for the National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited (NTDCL) has said that the Government of Pakistan has signed an agreement with Iran to import 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The agreement was signed by a delegation of Pakistan, headed by NTDCL Managing Director Rasul Khan Mahsud and Iran’s deputy Minister for Energy Muhammad Behzad.

According to the agreement, 70% of the funding for the project will be provided by the Iranian Government, whereas 30% will be arranged by the Government of Pakistan.

The spokesman revealed that the project will be completed in three years. As per negotiations between the delegations, the rate of electricity has been finalised at eight cents per unit; whereas in case of a rise in international oil prices a maximum of 11 cents will be charged.

The spokesman further said that the signing of the agreement is the outcome of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad`s visit to Pakistan, during which President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had shown interest in importing power from Iran to mitigate the prevailing energy crisis in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2012.