Matiari-Lahore: HVDC Transmission line being completed

BEIJING: Recently, one of the key projects of CPEC, Matiari to Lahore ±660 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Line Project, has almost been completed as its Lahore converter station DC bipolar finished open line test, Gwadar Pro reported on Wednesday.

The 886 kilometers of transmission line runs from the southwest to the northeast of Pakistan, passing through the provinces of Sindh and Punjab.

It is the first ±660 kV DC project overseas of the State Grid Company of China (SGCC) with completely independent intellectual property rights, and all its economic and technical indicators are at the international leading level.

Due to the old circuits and inadequate power transmission channels, it is difficult to transport the abundant power resources in southern Pakistan to the north, where people suffer from a severe shortage of electricity.

The change came in 2015. In the summer of 2015, a severe heat wave struck southern Pakistan and caused the deaths of about 2,000 people from dehydration and heat stroke. The power outage was one of the main reasons for this tragedy. The same year, China and Pakistan agreed to form a ‘1+4’ cooperation structure with the CPEC at the center and Gwadar Port, energy, transport infrastructure and industrial cooperation being the four key areas to achieve common development.

Accordingly, HVDC Transmission Line was planned under CPEC for which the Cooperation Agreement was signed in 2015 between SGCC and National Transmission & Despatch Company in Pakistan.

At the most severe stage of the epidemic in Pakistan, SGCC guided the Matiari-Lahore project department to establish a leading group on epidemic prevention.

“In view of a large number of workers from both China and Pakistan, we have printed the prevention and control manuals in Chinese, English, and Urdu to facilitate local employees.

We have also set up multilingual signboards at the site, and organized Pakistani construction and security personnel to jointly carry out emergency drills to improve their protection awareness,” said Xu Baowei, manager of the comprehensive management department of the project. During the epidemic, equipment manufacturers faced delayed work, insufficient staff, and reduced production capacity. Major shipping companies around the world also suspended multiple routes.

To this end, the developer of Matiari-Lahore project actively coordinated with manufacturers, carried out manufacturing supervision and acceptance through remote video, kept an eye on all routes and port information, and adjusted the transportation plan in real time, so as to ensure the timely delivery of project materials.