Over 2,212 locals to get jobs in Matiari-Lahore transmission project

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Lt. Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Saturday that 85 percent work on 660kV Matiari-Lahore HVDC Transmission line project had been completed and the project also created over 2,212 direct jobs for locals.

“The transmission line will evacuate power North-South and resolve one major issue,” he said in a tweet. Asim Bajwa who is also Chairman CPEC Authority said the transmission line would have a capacity of evacuating 4000MW of electricity.

Update:660kV Matiari-Lahore HVDC Transmission line Project.will evacuate power North-South,resolve one major issue.Scope;4000MW Evac Capacity, 886KM,1972 Towers.
Cost:USD 1.658 Billion
Work completed:85%-
Direct employment:2,212 #cpec #CPECMakingProgress #pakistanmakingprogress pic.twitter.com/hDp22ybD9p

— Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimSBajwa) August 8, 2020

The line is 886 kilometers long and there are1972 towers along the line. The cost of the project is $1.658 billion.

The project was designed to have bi-pole HVDC technology, having two converter stations, one each at the ends of Matiari (Interior Sindh) and Balloki (Punjab), three repeater stations and two grounding electrode stations, he maintained.

The mega transmission line project would evacuate 4000 Megawatts of Power from Coal Based Power Plants in Thar region and thermal power plants including nuclear power plants of Sindh to northern load centers of the country.

This transmission facility would primarily be utilized to transmit power generated from indigenous Thar coal-based power generation projects with an aim to enhance the share of indigenous fuel-based generation and saving a significant amount of foreign exchange.

As per the agreed milestones, he mentioned, the project was expected to formally start its commercial operation on March 01, 2021.