Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari on Friday met with World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine, World Bank Group experts and IFC Country Manager Zeeshan Sheikh and discussed the initial feasibility of the Matiari Moro-Rahim Yar Khan transmission line project.
The government has planned to construct the 500kV transmission line to link Matiari in Sindh with Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab. According to the Ministry of Planning and Development, the Rs189
billion project had been approved, with Rs17bn al-located in the budget for the fiscal year 2024-25. The transmission line is necessary to make up for ” the electricity differen-tial from south to north, The issue, as per a wind power producers (WPPs) representative, is as the is power generation in the country’s southern region has rapidly increased “[it] outpaced the develop-ment of NTDC’s grids that can carry electricity from south to north. This has resulted in transmission or bottlenecks which, in to turn, limit NTDC’s ability to evacuate power”. On its part, the NTDC claims the variation in electricity generation from WPPs sonal changes grid unstable. due to sea makes its
that, while the project has numerous benefits, its success depends on the effective resolution of the “right of way” issue. Until the challenge is ad dressed, effective imple-mentation of the project will not be possible.” The right of way (ROW) the legal permission required for the construc-tion, conservation, expan sion and protection of a piece of land or a commut-ing route. In other words, when an organisation, may it be a government private entity, intends build or improve the infrastructure of a city, district, or even a country, ROW is needed before any such work is initiated. The minister clarified that under any procure-ment model, the National Transmission and
must retain control over the transmission system and operations, while tariffs will be determined according to NEPRA regu-lations to ensure sustain-ability of the project.
The project is a key component of Pakistan’s energy infrastructure, designed to improve sta-bility and performance of the national transmis-sion network, said a press release issued here.
Its goal is to improve voltage stability, ensure effective electricity trans-mission from north to south, and facilitate the integration of large-scale renewable energy sources. Additionally, various as-pects of the project were discussed during the meeting.
Minister of State Abdul Rehman Kanju also par-Leghari emphasized Dispatch Company (NTDC) ticipated in the meeting.
