Pak water resources depleting, so are our funds

on 25/03/2018

WAPDA proposes to spend Net Hydle Profit amounts 

It’s an unfortunate coincidence! Pakistan’s water resources are fast depleting due to climate change so are its development funds, that are shrinking every year. It makes the officials associated with water resources feel as if Pakistan may not build even a single large dam in 100 years.

Islamabad was supposed to release Rs120 billion for 18 water projects this financial year (2017-2018). However, it could release merely Rs36 billion! If the ratio of such release is computed then it will take 32 years to finish the job.

Secretary Water Resource division, Shamail Ahmad Khawaja shared his concerns with the Standing Committee on water resources led by MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi.

“With only Rs36 billion, it will take 14-32 years to complete these projects”, Khawaja said.The Council of Common Interests (CCI) has been recommended that all parties should approve water accord so that the reservoirs’ construction issue should be resolved on war-footings. For the year 2018-19, an allocation of Rs203 billion will be proposed, he says.

Besides scant funds diverted to water sector projects, cost escalations are also affecting the projects. For instance, the Bhasha Dam originally costing at US$12 billion has reached US$15 billion. For this project, the executors would require Rs120 billion in next financial year.

Aimed at ensuring cash flow for water projects,  Water and Power Development Authority WAPDA has proposed to divert provinces’ Net Hydle Profit to constructing new dams and hydropower projects in the country.

Transmission system needs to be upgraded: Fahd K. Chinoy

on 25/03/2018

‘Setting a new standard for power sector in Pakistan’

 by Muhammad Salahuddin

ER: Would you like to tell us about Pakistan Cables and its recent experience of introducing ACCC® in Pakistan?

FKC: Pakistan Cables has always been on the forefront of introducing innovations and best practices in the industry. Our history as the only manufacturer in Pakistan to have technical collaborations with leading international companies such as British Insulated Calender Cable (BICC) and General Cables is a testament of our commitment to keep innovating and implementing best practices in Pakistan. As pioneers of the industry, we strongly believe in educating business partners, end users and other category players of developments that occur in the wires and cables industry around the world.

With the launch of High Tension Low Sag ACCC® (Aluminium Conductor Composite Core) for the first time in Pakistan, we have again set a new standard for the power sector. The product is offered in collaboration with CTC Global Inc., which is a US headquartered market leader in this technology.

ER: How would you describe the state of transmission lines in Pakistan?

FKC: The transmission line system of Pakistan is severely overloaded and stressed.  With new generation capacity quickly coming on line in the next few years, the transmission system needs to be upgraded both in terms of capacity and efficiency.

The current transmission system isn’t sufficient for the existing needs of evacuating electricity from the generation companies to the distribution companies.  There are many inefficiencies and line losses and there is a dire need to upgrade the transmission system.

ER: Kindly tell us what compelled NTDC to opt for ACCC Drake Conductor?

FKC: NTDC chose to look into the solution of ACCC because it is significantly more efficient conductor to the conventional ACSR used in Pakistan.  The conductor is a newer technology (known as HTLS) being introduced to Pakistan for the first time.  However, it has a proven track record with over 50,000 KM installed in over 40 countries. This allowed NTDC to re-conductor a very overloaded line on the same towers and infrastructure as the existing line.  The output of the current line was increased by as much as two times and the entire project was finished in less than 100 days.  This was a cost effective overall solution for NTDC than going with the option of adding a new line in parallel

ER: What are the benefits of this decision?

FKC: The decision allowed NTDC to enhance the capacity of the line without having to deal with major construction and right of way issues.  By simply re-conductoring the line, cost, time and line losses were all reduced.

ER: How would it affect future course of action for smooth transmission in the country?

FKC: There is a huge scope for ACCC in Pakistan, now that the pilot project is complete.  It paves the way for NTDC and the DISCOs to gain confidence in a proven technology that reduces line loss by 30%, reduces sag, eliminates right of way issues and enhances the overall efficiency of the system.  It allows for the Utilities to enhance the capacity of existing lines and can be a breakthrough solution to the challenges confronting our transmission and distribution system.  Already this technology has been embraced regionally in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, where thousands of kilometers have been installed.  If Pakistan adapts quickly to the technology, it can be a game changer.

Are we raising false hopes for Mainline-I (ML-I) rail track?

on 25/03/2018

At least movement in Islamabad as regarding  finalize mode of financing says so

Federal government is considering to finalize mode of financing for $8.2 billion Mainline-I (ML-I) rail track under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). As a result, the project stands far from its start.

Government needs an internal agreement on the exact financing modalities before making a request to China for processing a loan.The project has already faced a delay of at least two years and still there remains a disagreement between the Ministry of Railways and other ministries, officials say. Ministry of Finance and a financing group, set up to firm up funding modalities for the ML-I project, are in favor of acquiring the loan with sovereign guarantees, show documents.

In the case of sovereign guarantees, the $8.2-billion loan will not become part of Pakistan’s ballooning external debt of $85 billion. The responsibility of loan repayment will lie on the Ministry of Railways.

Under the May 2017 framework agreement, the project will be solely funded by China. However, Pakistan Railways wants the central government to acquire the loan, which will not only make it part of the external debt, but will also shift the loan-servicing responsibility on to the centre.

The ML-I project is aimed at upgrading the existing 1,872-kilometre mainline of Pakistan Railways from Karachi to Peshawar. The project was planned to be completed in two phases between 2016 and 2020. Now revised timelines suggest that the project cannot be completed before 2022 provided the government is able to start work this year.

For the past one and a half year, the government officials concerned have been giving false deadlines for signing the financing agreement with China. Last month, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that groundbreaking of the ML-I project was expected in March 2018 and it would be completed in four years in various phases .However, the Ministry of Railways has not yet submitted a new PC-I for first phase of the project to the planning ministry for approval. Iqbal had set the October 2017 deadline for the railways ministry for submission of the PC-I. Cost estimates have also remained inaccurate.

Government has decided to split the project into two parts due to its high cost and the work that requires refurbishment and expansion of the main rail line. Sources said a decision on the exact financing mode would be taken by the Cabinet Committee on CPEC; but the Ministry of Railways was trying to push its own proposal.

On December 15, 2017, the financing group had decided that a summary would be sent to the CPEC committee for a decision on whether the borrowing would be made by the central government or it would be backed by sovereign guarantees. However, the summary circulated by the Ministry of Railways for comments of the ministries pointed to only the central loan option.

The decision to obtain sovereign guarantees had actually been taken in November 2016 by the then minister of finance. Economic Affairs Division was of the view that in case the loan was acquired by the central government, the cost of borrowing for Pakistan Railways would jump to 9% whereas the government would pay around 2% in interest to China. Such loans are covered by the relenting policy, under which the federal government takes responsibility of repaying the money and bears the exchange rate risk in return for recovering a fixed interest from the borrower.

China has told Pakistan that it will consider only that loan request which covers the entire rail track from Karachi to Peshawar and not up to Lahore. Officials of the Ministry of Railways insist that any loan request to China should be in line with the spirit of the framework agreement, which was the central loan. They pointed out that the agreement clearly mentioned that the loan would be given on highly favourable terms.Project feasibility and the scope had been finalised and the railways ministry was trying to make the cost as realistic as possible, they said.

KWSB’s engineering posts go to non-engineers PEC

on 25/03/2018
PEC has reservations

to raise issue with CM Murad Ali Shah

Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has expressed serious reservations over appointment of officials lacking engineering degrees on positions requiring engineering expertise. Najamuddin Sheikh, a member of the executive committee of the PEC, told media that the recent appointments of the project directors of the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme K-IV Phase-I and Greater Karachi Sewerage Plant (S-III) were in violation of the PEC Act of 1976.

He said the council would soon send a delegation to Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah to convey its reservations. He said a letter had already been written to Prime Minster, Shahid Khaqan Abbassi on the matter.

Assad Zamin a BPS-19 official, was posted as the project director of K-IV Phase-I, and Noor Ahmed, also a BPS-19 official, of S-III on January 31. “These two officials hold simple graduate degrees with no relevant engineering knowledge and expertise. They have been posted in place of Saleem Siddiqui and Imtiaz Ahmad Magsi who held relevant engineering degrees and experience,” Sheikh said.

The contract for the K-IV Phase-I is with the Frontier Works Organisation. Both projects got started with a delay of more than eight years and as a result their cost got escalated to around Rs92 billion, based on the figures quoted by the Sindh chief minister at a recent Supreme Court hearing.Their original cost had been estimated at around Rs7 billion (SIII) and Rs27 billion (K-IV). Almost a year ago, Hashim Raza Zaidi was appointed as the managing director of the KWSB on SC directions with specific instructions to turn around the organisation so that water woes of the residents of Karachi could be addressed.The PEC official says that they have been receiving complaints from graduate engineers about violations of the PEC Act’s Section 27(5A) in government appointments not just in Sindh but in other provinces as well.

Sheikh said the law was clear that no person shall perform as a professional engineer, unless registered as an engineer or holding any post in an engineering organisation where he has to perform professional engineering work.”These concerns were the subject of a letter dispatched by Jawed Salim Qureshi, the PEC chairman, to the Prime Minister’s Office a couple of months ago. In the letter, the PEC has expressed concerns over the appointment of officials with non-engineers education and professional backgrounds on engineering posts in government departments. The letter says that the problem isn’t just restricted to Sindh. The chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority, responsible for executing infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars is a non-cadre official, according to the letter.

Similarly, it highlights that secretaries of Irrigation and Communication and Works (C&W) Departments in Punjab, KPK, and Balochistan, DGs of provincial development authorities, the CEO of PESCO, the MD Sui Southern Gas Company Limited are all required to have engineering education and experience under Sections 2(XIII) and 27(5A) of PEC Act.The PEC’s mandate is to regulate engineering profession including registration of engineers, accreditation of engineering education, construction and consultancy sectors.