Islamabad - The Japanese government extended the project loan effective period upto 31 december 2024 of ongoing loan project being provided to National Transmission and dispatch co ltd (NTdc) for Punjab Transmission and Grid stations Project (1). The Japanese government extended the utilisation of project loan for replenishment of materials used in repair and maintenance of NTdc’s national transmission lines affected by flood 2022 in Pakistan. The loan agreement was signed on 3rd may 2008 under which JIca provided project-based loan of Japanese Yen 11,943,000,000/- (11.94b Japanese Yen). In this regard, the letter of amendment of loan agreement has been signed between Japan International cooperation agency (JIca) headquarter, Tokyo, Japan and ministry of Economic affairs, Government of Pakistan. additionally, JIca also accepted the utilisation of remaining project loan amount for flood response. The extension of loan utilisation period will enable National Transmission and dispatch co ltd (NTdc) to utilise remaining balance for the procurement of necessary materials as replenishment of essential materials in NTdc warehouses which were urgency utilised for repair and maintenance of national transmission lines affected in the devastated flood 2022 across Pakistan. The main objectives of these projects were to improve the reliability and quality of power supply through the reduction of outages and voltage fluctuation and to meet the fast-growing load demand by strengthening transmission systems in Punjab province. Through JIca support, NTdc has built one 500kV grid station Rahim Yar Khan, 500/220kV grid station at Faisalabad West along with associated transmission line, 220kV GIs grid station at shalamar, lahore along with associated transmission lines. The newly constructed 500/220 kV grid station at Faisalabad West along with associated transmission line will be expected to be operationalised soon. Furthermore, the sub-stations and transmission lines constructed under JIca supported project contributed to mitigating the capacity ratio of neighbouring substations and transmission system. Hafiz Naeem threatens to stage protests across Karachi if LG polls' results delayed
The Nation, 17 Jan, 2023