The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has given the go-ahead to an alternative but controversial plan to lay transmission lines for transporting electricity from the Neelum Jhelum hydropower project, a move that will push up cost and spark dispute with China, sources say.
Under the original scheme, designed by renowned British consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in 2010-11 that has now been shelved, mountain corridors were to be utilised for laying the transmission lines and employing a high-capacity conductor that could transmit the electricity produced by all hydropower projects and carry up to 3,500 megawatts.
The project was estimated to cost Rs22.5 billion and awarded to China Gezhuba Group Company (CGGC), the successful bidder, which had to undertake work on the transmission lines.
However, a new board of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), constituted by the PML-N government after coming to power last year, rejected the bidder’s offer.
Afterwards, the NTDC management started the process anew and came up with an alternative plan for transmitting power from the Neelum Jhelum project at a cost of Rs21.27 billion. Under this plan, separate transmission lines would be laid for other hydropower projects, resulting in escalation of the cost of carrying 3,500MW of electricity.
According to sources, the ECC in its meeting held on August 15 approved, in principle, the Plan-B of laying the transmission lines at a cost of Rs21.69 billion with foreign exchange component of Rs11.27 billion.
Meeting participants told the ECC that bids had been processed and were under evaluation, adding funds were not available and the NTDC decided to execute the project with the help of its own resources.
The Ministry of Water and Power, however, said commercial banks were willing to provide Rs17 billion against sovereign guarantees.
The laying of transmission lines is a complex project that has no precedent in Pakistan. It forms part of a complex network that will emerge after 21 hydropower projects in northern areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir are completed.
Since the tenders for the transmission lines were invited, six managing directors of NTDC had been appointed and fired in a span of just two years. They held office for not more than four months.
The NTDC invited tenders on a buyer’s credit basis in the absence of other sources of funds and opened bids in August 2012. Though 10 companies purchased tender documents, only two – CGGC and Iran’s Sunir – participated in the bidding.
However, the bank guarantee of the Iranian firm was found to be fake and CGGC emerged as the successful bidder.
According to the prime minister’s directive, first unit of the 969MW Neelum Jhelum hydropower project will start running by December 2015 and for that the NTDC would have to complete the transmission lines before the end of September 2015 to pave the way for power transmission to the national grid.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2014.
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This articles fail to mention the date of completion for the two proposals. The line through mountain corridors will take around 3 years to complete n work should have been initiated back in 2012. if we opt for the first option will have to wait another 3 years to extract power out of there
Democracy in full swing
@ Zain.
21.5 Billion is just for one project alone and in future projects you will need separate lines...hope you understand how expensive it will be in the end. but you just dont worry and carry on your loyalty to royal family of shareefs and you might also end up on some higher post.
Corruption here we go..... corruption here we goo.... eyyy hoo a cheerio, corruption here we go!! I work for a international fortune 250 company that builds LNG and power plants all over the world. We can solve Paksitan's problem in 12 months BUT we do NOT PAY BRIBES which the PML N government wont function without. Instead Bangladesh booms positively and Pakistan booms negatively...
It is India that is still illegally occupying Junagarh, Hyderabad, Occupied Kashmir, Goa and have the galls of lecturing others on freedom?
This report does not tell why NTDC opted for plan B without which it is not possible to understand the rationale for the decision.
@Zain: " How is 21.27 Billion more expensive than 22.5 Billion?" ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sir, One ficure encompasses all upcoming HydroElectic Projects and the other only Neelum Jhelum.
@Salman: Kindly do some research and then comment here. Separate transmission lines in the longer run will be beneficial rather than one high capacity line. Single conductive lines have a single point of failure and also some of the lines are very close to the Indian Occupied Kashmir's ( IOK) border. So this decision have a security aspect as well. Multiple transmission lines will be costly but they are infact beneficial from the security point of view. Relying on one line for more than 3500 Megawatts will cut costs but just imagine a single fault and millions of homes and industry will out of power. Multiple lines will solve the risk factor of massive power breakdowns incase of any failure of heavy transmission lines.
@Sandip,The same way India is illegally occupying our Province of Kashmir since 1948 and "Illegally" constructing dams all over the place!!!
@Sandip: Just ask the people who live there like my relatives. The will tell who is illegally occupying their land and you should respect the reality of public sentiment. Even the majority in Indian occupied Kashmir would prefer to join Pakistan but India will not allow the UN referendum which allows locals to decide their own fate. In today's world you can't hold a people hostage forever.
@Sandip: The next one will be in Jammu. Unlike IOK, we have a parliament in AJK where any concerns are voiced. AJK doesn't have a puppet CM like Omar Abdullah, neither doest it have 700,000 standing soldiers to subvert its citizens. We will soon be making GB and AJK regular provinces of Pakistan, IOK will be next. Please worry about damages to your own citizens, not citizens of Pakistan.
On what basis is Pakistan looking to build all these hydropower projects in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that pakistan has been illegally occupying since 1948? Do they realize they are liable to pay damages for every such project it undertakes.
Transparency International should look into it. And if find anything fishy in this costlier option, or anyone gaining benefit, then it should sue the government. If any member of ECC or Sharif family is involve in any graft then he needs to be punished as well. Its about time we all learn to call a spade a spade.
The original scheme was made by a renowned British company. PMLN now shelves that scheme and comes with their own at almost double price. WOW talk about corruption.
PMLN wants to play with the future of our country and create substandard power transmission.
IK was right about these people!
You have to get corruption going smoothly to pay the the government officials and ministers. Will add a few years of schedule delay but that's OK too because the power plants will not be ready anyway.
How is 21.27 Billion more expensive than 22.5 Billion?