FFC suggests exclusive ‘Flood Management Authority’ in Pakistan

on 11/01/2023

Federal Flood Commission (FFC) has suggested that Pakistan needs a vibrant and exclusive Flood Management Authority (FMA) at the national level to deal with floods in the future.
The commission has written to the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) which leaped to play its due role by inviting a group of senior engineers for a brainstorming session so that the engineering community can play its due role in rebuilding the areas severely damaged by the floods caused by monsoon rains this year.
The commission says the proposed authority will deal with flood protection and management issues like the NDMA, being the exclusive authority responsible for rescue and relief matters after the disasters occur.
The commission further proposes the River Act be enacted in all the provinces and that existing land use regulations be implemented strictly in letter and spirit to avoid major loss of life and property in future floods.
Flood Plain Maps prepared under NFPP-IV are already in place and circulated widely among the provinces. These maps can help determine the extent of inundation and may be used for flood warnings in respective districts by the DDMAs. The maps indicate the areas that may submerge at certain flood levels/ river discharge.
It says the construction of dams in the Indus Basin can only help manage flood waters to pass safely.
Large-scale forestation in upper catchments of all the rivers would help not only in reducing flood intensity in upper reaches but also support combating climate change impacts.
Pakistan needs a vibrant and exclusive Flood Management Authority at the national level to deal with flood protection and management issues like the NDMA, being the exclusive authority responsible for rescue and relief matters after disasters occur.
Since its establishment, FFC has so far spared and successfully coordinated and implemented three Ten (10) years of National Flood Protection Plans (NFPPs). Under these plans, approximately 1232 No. Flood Protection and River Training Works costing Rs.16.68 billion have been executed throughout the country. Also under these plans, a number of Weather Radars, Flood Telemetry System Flood Forecasting & Warning System equipment, and other ground stations have been procured and installed for strengthening and up-gradation of the country’s Flood Forecasting and Warning System. This also includes a state-of-the-art Flood Forecasting & Warning System for Lai Nullah Basin (Islamabad & Rawalpindi), through Japanese assistance.
In the aftermath of the 2010 disastrous Floods, the Federal Flood Commission prepared Fourth National Plan (NFPP-IV) costing Rs. 332.246 billion, which was approved by CCI in its meeting held in May 2017. In line with the advice of MoWR/PD&SI Division, an Umbrella PC-I of Flood Protection Sector Project-Ill (FPSP-III) with a rationalized cost of Rs. 95.980 billion was prepared, which stands approved by the CDWP in its meeting held on 12 October 2020 for submission to ECNEC, which is still pending for approval of ECNEC due to non-availability of secured donor funding to the tune of Rs. 95.98 billion. The GOP needs to explore and decide on the source of funding at the earliest possible. Meanwhile, NFPP-IV and PC-I are being updated in wake of 2022 flood damages as per the PM directive and advice of the PD&SI Division respectively.
FFC is presently implementing the GOP funded Normal/ Emergent Flood Programme. It is a need-based program in which Provincial Irrigation Departments and Federal Line Agencies submit their emergent flood protection schemes proposed along main and other rivers, besides, hill torrents and flood flows generating local nullahs to the Federal Flood Commission keeping in view their priorities and allocation of funds under Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) each year. However, this program is very much limited and is unable to address comprehensive flood management aspects.
Scattered emergent schemes play a vital role in the management of floods and prevention/reduction of damages to life, property, and infrastructure, however, due to inadequate budget allocation under PSDP, each year (minimal as compared to the Provinces & Federal Line Agencies demands) cannot address effective country level flood protection and management aspects.n

Multiple Formations of Heat Transfer Mechanism Engr. Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

on 09/01/2023

The direct infinitesimal trade of active energy of particles (like atoms) or quasiparticles, (for example, grid waves) over the border between two systems is known as heat conduction. When an object’s temperature differs from that of another body or its surroundings, heat flows between them until they achieve the same temperature, at which point they are in thermal equilibrium. External processes can push fluid flow, or buoyancy forces can influence fluid flow (for example, in gravitational fields) when heat energy expands the fluid (for example, in a fire plume). The intensity move coefficient, the proportionality between the intensity motion and the thermodynamic main thrust for the movement of heat, are used to determine thermodynamic and mechanical heat transfer. Heat flux is a vectorial depiction of heat movement through a surface that is quantified. The term heat is sometimes used interchangeably with the term thermal energy in engineering contexts. This term comes from the historical concept of heat as a fluid (caloric) that may be transported by a variety of means, and it is widely used in layman’s language and everyday life.
The heat is transferred within and through the body in conduction. Heat transfer by thermal radiation, on the other hand, is frequently between bodies that are geographically distant. A mix of conduction and thermal radiation can also be used to transfer heat. Internal energy is transmitted between bodies via a moving material carrier in convection. Conduction in solids is mediated by a combination of molecular vibrations and collisions, phonon propagation and collisions, and diffusion and collisions of free electrons. Conduction occurs in gases and liquids as molecules collide and diffuse during their random motion. Conduction is the process of heat transfer from one place to another without the movement of particles, such as when placing a warm hand on a cold glass of water—heat is conducted from the warm skin to the cold glass, but little conduction occurs if the hand is held a few inches away from the glass because air is a poor conductor of heat. Steady-state conduction is an idealized model of conduction in which the temperature differential driving the conduction is constant and the spatial distribution of temperatures in the conducting object does not vary after a certain period of time.
Convective heat transfer, or simply convection, is the transfer of heat from one location to another through the flow of fluids, which is essentially the same as heat transfer via mass transfer. In many physical settings, such as between a solid surface and the fluid, the bulk motion of the fluid improves heat transfer. In liquids and gases, convection is the most common mode of heat transmission. Convection is commonly used to represent the joined impacts of intensity conduction inside the liquid (dissemination) and intensity transaction via bulk fluid flow streaming, while it is also described as the third form of heat transfer. Conduction and convection can be thought of as competitors for dominance in a body of fluid heated from beneath its container. Fluid traveling down by convection is heated by conduction so quickly that its downward movement is stopped due to buoyancy, while fluid going up by convection is cooled by conduction so quickly that its driving buoyancy diminishes. If heat conduction is very low, however, a big temperature gradient may arise and convection may be very powerful. At temperatures above absolute zero, thermal radiation is emitted by all objects due to the random movement of atoms and molecules in matter. Because these atoms and molecules are made up of charged particles (protons and electrons), their movement causes electromagnetic radiation to be emitted, which transfers energy away. The sun’s radiation, also known as solar radiation, can be used to generate heat and electricity. Thermal radiation – arriving within a narrow-angle, i.e. coming from a source a lot more modest than its distance – can be moved in a little spot by utilizing reflecting mirrors, which is taken advantage of in concentrating sun-based power age or a consuming glass, unlike conductive and convective forms of heat transfer.n

NESPAK Ranked on US-Based ENR Magazine Top Global Firms list.

on 09/01/2023

NESPAK, under the leadership of Managing Director Dr. Tahir Masood, has been ranked for the fourth consecutive year on ENR (Engineering News-Record) Magazine Top International/Global Construction Management/Program Management Firms list, published as part of the ENR Top International/Global Contractors feature in the August 2022 issue of ENR, a US-based ranking magazine.
The ranking has been published in the latest issue of the magazine and NESPAK has been ranked 13this year among the top 20 Non-US firms in total global construction management and program management.
NESPAK was envisioned by its founders as an organization free from foreign dependence and capable of delivering the highest quality in the field of engineering consultancy. It was envisaged as an institution that had to lead the consultancy market of Pakistan and compete abroad with excellence. Time has proved that NESPAK has succeeded in fulfilling its objectives to a large extent owing to the unprecedented struggle offered by its professional brigade who left no stone unturned to achieve their stated aims. At present, NESPAK is not only playing a lead role in the consultancy services for the construction of two mega hydropower projects i.e., Mohmand Dam and Diamer Basha Dam Projects. Till todate, NESPAK has provided consultancy services in 39 countries and has proved itself as an international player in the engineering consultancy world. — PR

Port Qasim Electric Power Company starts converting to Thar Coal

on 09/01/2023

Port Qasim Electric Power Company Limited (PQEPCL) is set to blend Thar Coal with imported one as the company’s proposal submitted with the Power Division has gotten a nod now.
This will be the beginning of the 1320 MW imported-coal fired project into the Thar Coal-fired powerhouse. Initially, the project will blend Thar Coal with a ratio of 10 percent on a pilot basis.
Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), a report said had approached the Sindh Government as regards conversion to the Thar Coal of all IPPS in the country and asked for a bankable study. The Sindh government hired Fichtner GmbH KG & Co which conducted the study.
Based on data acquired from Port Qasim Electric Power Company the consultant submitted a preliminary feasibility report for the conversion of the imported coal-based power plant to Thar coal with the Power Division.
Simultaneously, the report said a feasibility study is also being monitored by the PPIB-appointed Panel of Experts (PoE) consisting of experts from the government and private sector.
Fichtner’s study findings say, most of the company’s plant systems have extra capacities that can handle a certain percentage of Thar Lignite with the exception of limiting equipment, ie, Fuel Gas Desulfurization (FGD), electrostatic precipitator, pulverizer, and primary air fans.
Fichtner claimed that the power plant can operate at approximately 50 percent capacity on Thar Coal alone without any major modifications and with a 20 percent blending ratio the power plant can operate at 85 percent of capacity. If 100 percent operation of the plant goes on Thar coal, the equipment capacities need to be enhanced.
Since the study performed by Fichtner is a desktop study it requires further confirmation through on-site testing.
The study was shared with Port Qasim Electric Power Company which stated that blending of 20 percent with a derated capacity of 85percent is not a suitable option; however, in their calculations, up to 12 percent blending can achieve 100 percent load of the plant.
The PQEPCL further agreed to on-site testing as suggested by Fichtner starting from 10 percent blending and the final blending ratio to be adjusted as per the actual test; however, in their view increase in blending with a decreased load is not a reasonable option at this stage due to power shortages in Pakistan.
The PQEPCL had indicated that Thar coal has a high sulfur content that causes erosion of boiler water wall pipe, heating surface, air pre-heater, and ID fan which consequently decreases boiler service life. However, it can be avoided with anti-corrosion and other modifications in the system.
Further, the blending of Thar coal will increase the burden of the desulfurization system including but not limited to an increase in auxiliary power consumption, O&M cost, reduce system service life and such costs shall be borne by GoP. In addition, site roads, coal storage, coal loading, and unloading systems also need to be upgraded. — ERMD

TEL successfully achieves commissioning! Collective power generation of HUBCO, its group increase to 3251 MW

on 09/01/2023

Thar Energy Limited has successfully achieved commissioning, with the Commercial Operations Date (COD) to take effect from October 1, 2022, according to a filing by Hub Power Company Limited to the exchange.
TEL is a joint venture between The Hub Power Company Limited (HUBCO), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC), and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), formed for the purposes of establishing a 330 MW Mine-Mouth Coal-Fired Power Generation Complex at Thar Block II, District Tharparkar, Sindh, Pakistan (the “Project”) under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to the notification, “The Project has successfully achieved commissioning, with the Commercial Operations Date (COD) to take effect from October 1, 2022, in terms of the Power Purchase Agreement dated July 27, 2017 (the “PPA”) entered into between TEL and the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited.”
With this achievement, the collective power generation capacity of the HUBCO and its group companies has increased to 3251 MW through the plants spread over Balochistan, Punjab, Azad Jammu, and Kashmir, and Sindh.
The Project will be generating low-cost energy from indigenous Thar Coal thus reducing the burden on national foreign exchange resource. Completion of the Project would have not been possible without the support extended by the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Sindh, the Government of China, and all other private stakeholders.
In August, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had inaugurated the 330 MW HUBCO power plant which he said added 990 MW coal-fired power to the national grid to empower Pakistan with cheapest and indigenous source of energy.
The Sindh govt became the major shareholder in the first Thar coal mining company SECMC and also provided the financial guarantee required by Chinese lenders to achieve the financial close of the mine.
Shah said that his government had provided continuous support to Thar coal IPPs as well as mining companies and had ensured the provision of necessary infrastructure, including roads, bridges and on top of it Mai Bakhtawar Airport, so that these projects can function smoothly.
He said the government was also working to ensure ramp up of mine quickly and utilization of Thar coal for energy needs of other industrial sectors including cement, fertilizers and others.
Thar Energy Ltd. is a 330 MW Coal Fired Power Project based on Thar Coal and a part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Project is a joint venture among Hub Power Company Ltd (Hubco), Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd (FFC), China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and has been completed at a cost of US $520 million
It may be noted that foreign financing for the project was arranged from a Chinese syndicate, led by China Development Bank whereas local financing has been arranged via a syndicate led by Habib Bank Ltd.
The project started construction in May 2018 from sponsors’ equity without waiting for financial close to ensure the earliest utilization of indigenous Thar Coal.
The financial close of the project was achieved in January 2020. The project experienced delays due to delays in loan disbursement from Chinese lenders and later due to COVID-19 pandemic. – ER/MD