https://arab.news/rq6p5
- Official says this will be the first time ever that a province will lay a transmission line on its own
- In the first phase, a 40-kilometer section of the line will be built from Matiltan to Madyan in Swat
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has signed an agreement with a private firm to establish a power transmission line in the province, an official said on Saturday.
The power transmission line will be established in one and a half year with a cost of Rs8 billion ($28.8 million), according to Muhammad Ali Saif, KP chief minister’s adviser on information.
In the first phase, a 40-kilometer section of the line will be built from Matiltan to Madyan in Swat to supply power to local industries and national grid.
“Industries will be provided very cheap electricity through the transmission line,” Saif said in a statement. “The completion of its first phase generate Rs7 billion for the province.”
Pakistan has enough installed capacity to meet its demand for electricity, but the South Asian country lacks adequate resources and cannot afford to invest in new infrastructure and power lines, which often result in transmission losses.
In January 2023, the country suffered a nationwide blackout due to a frequency failure in the national grid, which happened because of a major mismatch between demand and supply. It was the second nationwide shutdown in three months.
In November last year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $250 million loan for Pakistan to help the South Asian country deliver reliable electricity by expanding and improving its power transmission network in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces.