Transmission firm hopes to free Lahore of load-shedding

Media delegation briefed on Matiari-Lahore power line project

LAHORE:

The Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company (PMLTC) hopes to rid the provincial capital of power load-shedding next year.

PMLTC Deputy CEO Ma Desheng said while speaking to a media delegation that the Matiari-Lahore transmission line was bridging energy gap in Pakistan and facilitating the country’s economic growth. It had successfully completed energisation for 1,000 days at the Lahore Converter Station, he said.

He said two more lines would be laid to meet the energy needs of the region.

The delegation visited Lahore conversion site of 886km Matiari-Lahore power transmission line during a programme aimed at showcasing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Punjab.

The Lahore-Matiari line is the first project launched under the 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.

The delegation also visited a factory run by a Chinese company. The Shanghai Yuanyi Industrial Company had invested in Pakistan in 2014 to establish its first overseas export-oriented garment manufacturing enterprise, which is the third outside the two production bases in Shanghai and Hubei.

The company has continuously expanded from a small factory with 300 employees at the beginning to the current scale of 4,000 employees. Its sales have increased to more than $60 million, ranking among the top 100 exporters in Pakistan.

The Chinese Consulate in Lahore and the Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR) organised visits to various projects as part of the celebration of the completion of 10 years of CPEC.

The delegation had earlier visited the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT). Senior management officers of the operations and management service provider, shed light on the performance of the OLMT, South Asia’s first electric train launched under CPEC, which has crossed the milestone of 100 million rides since its launch last year.

The visitors were given a live demonstration of the state-of-the-art operation control room, highlighting the advanced technology and monitoring systems utilised to ensure seamless operations and passenger safety.

The Orange Line team emphasized the significance of regular maintenance and cleanliness in maintaining a world-class metro service. The highlight of the visit was a train ride to Anarkali Station.

The delegation also visited the Allama Iqbal Industrial City (AIIC), a priority SEZ being developed on approximately 3,217 acres under the CPEC framework.

Having an advantage of being adjacent to the M3 motorway, the industrial city comprises a large number of projects, including textile, pharmaceutical, information technology, chemical, automotive and service.

Time Ceramic CEO Zhang Qi said the company had 23 per cent of market share in Pakistan and introduced new technology to help grow the export. He local people constituted 95 per cent of those employed in the company since its inception.

The Green Crockery CEO stated that its first exports valuing Rs10 million to the United Kingdom had promoted the CPEC mission. Women’s employability in the company stands at 20$, which is on rise gradually, he added. Instead of importing from China, traders will get produced their desired items from Chinese and other companies in the industrial city, the delegation was informed.

During a visit to CPEC’s first energy project, the 1,320MW Sahiwal Coal-Fired Power Plant, Vice President Chen Wei briefed the media delegation about its impact and performance.

He said Being a joint venture of Huaneng Shandong Power Generation Company and Shandong Ruyi Group with an investment of about $1.8 billion, the project was the largest, fastest and the first environment-friendly coal-fired power plant completed under CPEC, with the most optimal technological and environmental indicators. Ensuring higher standards in maintaining best ecosystem, levels of hazardous gases and mercury are remaining lower than the standards set by the World Bank, Japan, the EU as well as Pakistan, he added.

Filling a quarter of the country’s power shortage and meeting the electricity demand of more than four million houses, the project has won several awards.

Chinese experts have also trained many Pakistani engineers as a part of transfer of technology under the CPEC framework.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2023.