Inflation in country is temporary: PM

Imran says speeding up work on CPEC will soon bring down food prices

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said inflation in the country is temporary and speeding up work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would soon bring down the food prices.

“The operationalisation of the country’s first-ever transmission line of 660 KV High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) will reduce line losses from 17% to four per cent, resulting in availability of cheap electricity for consumers,” Premier Imran said while addressing the inauguration of 886-kilometre-long Matiari-Lahore HVDC with a capacity of 4,400 megawatt power generation under CPEC.

The prime minister said the project would prove as a "leading energy transmission artery from the country's north to south".

Imran said significant reduction of line losses would save billions of rupees and also lessen the burden on common man paying expensive electricity bills.

He regretted that the previous government did not carry out on-ground work on the Matiari-Lahore project signed with China in 2013, which made the public immensely suffer the power load-shedding.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction that his government, after coming to power in 2018, carried out construction work of the state-of-the-art Matiari-Lahore project at full pace and completed it despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides energy, he said, other CPEC projects under Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative relating to industrialisation and innovation in agriculture would be launched in the next phase.

He hoped that completion of CPEC projects would lead to wealth creation and help the government pay off heavy debt.

Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said the project was made operational after testing in three phases including the peak seasons and would help in removing the transmission bottleneck.

“The CPEC power projects are important pillars of Pakistan's economic system and are acting as smart and efficient sources of green energy generation.”

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong termed the operationalisation of 660 KV HVDC project a milestone, saying Pakistan's power grid system had now entered a new era of development and upgradation.

He said low-cost electricity was key to socioeconomic development of Pakistan, vowing that China would continue to extend its support in this regard.

He mentioned that the 886km transmission line would go along 510km of motorway and create around 70,000 jobs in the country.

State Grid Corporation of China President Xin Baoan in his video-link address at the ceremony said the 70th anniversary of Pak-China friendship was marked by cooperation at diverse levels for the benefit of their people.

He said his corporation would work closely work with its local counterparts in Pakistan on projects of energy cooperation.

“The HVDC transmission line project will evacuate power from the upcoming coal-based thermal power plants located at Port Qasim, Hub and Thar.”

The National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) carried out a study through an international consultant which proposed HVDC technology for transfer of bulk power for its cost-effectiveness and lower line losses.

Moreover, the requirement of 'right of way' for HVDC is less than High-Voltage Alternate Current (HVAC) lines.

The HVDC line Matiari to Lahore will have 1,973 towers and two converter stations with AC substations, one each at Matiari and Lahore.

It will have two grounding stations at 50-80 km from Matiari and Lahore converter stations and three repeater stations along the route of line to boost telecommunication signals, each at Salehpat, Rahim Yar Khan and Hasilpur.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved the total cost of the project of $1,658 million including taxes, insurance etc and has issued a tariff determination of Rs.0.74 per kWh at the rate of $1.

The monthly HVDC line capacity charges for 4,000 MW are Rs4.2 billion approximately after indexation in tariff.

The project is being executed on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis for a 25-year term. The operation and maintenance of the converter stations will be carried out by Pak MLTC and that of the transmission line by NTDC.

Nepra has fixed the line availability factor of 98.5 per cent and any non-availability beyond 1.5 per cent allowed unavailability shall be penalised.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) of the Sindh and Punjab governments have issued No-Objection Certificates for EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment).

The testing and commissioning of the project continued for more than one year and was completed on August 18, 2021 after its trial run for 168 hours along with capability demonstration tests. APP

Separately, the premier chaired a meeting of the National Coordination Committee for Housing and Construction in which he said that laid emphasis on food security and climate change, saying that they were important issues for Pakistan and the world.

“The government is ensuring protection of forest land to safeguard the environment.”

The government was taking steps for recovery of occupied government land, he informed, directing that the law to recover occupied state land should be strictly implemented.

The PM said cadastral mapping could identify dead capital and ensure its better use.

The Capital Development Authority chairman informed the participants about the ongoing housing projects in Islamabad.

He said that the development work in I-15 sector was completed in a short period of one year.

He said Farash town housing project and other infrastructure projects would be completed soon. The digitalisation of land record of forests of Islamabad had almost been completed, he added.

Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib, Special Assistant to PM Dr Shahbaz Gill and high ranking officers attended the meeting.

The surveyor general gave a detailed briefing on cadastral mapping. It was informed that work was speedily continuing on digital mapping and identification of state lands across the country including Lahore and Islamabad.

Briefing was also given on special development zones. Peri urban settlements at the development zones would be given basic facilities. The project would help in better use of land and stop the spread of illegal housing societies.