Staff Reporter Islamabad
Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar wit-nessed as chief guest of the agreement signing ceremony of Addendum /Amendment in agreement for ±660 kV HVDC Matiari – Lahore Transmission Line Project between NTDC and Pak MLTC and Amendment No. 1 to the Implementation agreement (IA) between Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and the Project Company i.e. Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company. (PMLTC) held at conference room of Power Division, Islamabad on Wednesday.
The documents were signed by Mr. Shah Jahan Mirza, Managing Director, PPIB for Amendment to the IA, Managing Director NTDC Engr. Dr. Kha-waja Riffat Hassan for Addendum and Ms. Zhang Lei, President and CEO of PMLTC for both the agreements.
SAPM on Power and Petroleum, Mr.Tabish Gauhar and Secretary Power Division Mr. Ali Raza Bhutta were also present on the occasion.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has also granted approval and under the new Transmis-sion Services Agreement (TSA), the Required Commercial Operation Date (RCOD) of transmis-sion line has been extended from 1st March 2021 to 1st September 2021.
Whereas, Another Addendum has also been made in Operations and Maintenance Service Agreement (O&M).
The ±660 kV Matiari – Lahore Transmission Line Project (the Project) is first ever HVDC Transmis-sion Line Project in Pakistan which is being exe-cuted under the framework of China-Pakistan Eco-nomic Corridor (CPEC) Agreement.
It is also the first project being developed pursuant to the provisions of Private Sector Transmission Line Policy Framework approved and announced by the Government of Pakistan (GOP) back in 2015.
This Transmission Line is spread over a span of 886 km and capable of transmitting 4000 MW power at ±660 kV.
The Project is being executed on Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis and will be trans-ferred to NTDC after a term of 25 Years. The Pro-ject entails foreign investment to the tune of US$ 1,658.34 Million.
In the light of aforesaid MoU, Addendum Agree-ments to the TSA and O&M Agreement were agreed between PMLTC and NTDC which were later approved by their respective BoDs.
Moreover, an Amendment to the IA was also finalized and approved to harmonize these changes in the TSA and the IA. These amendments are being signed today between the respective parties.
