Stage set for 29th HVACR Int’l Expo;localization among challenges head

The 29th Pakistan HVACR International Expo & Conference 2024, which is being held on May 23-24, 2024 in Lahore, is set to attract large numbers of stakeholders from the HVACR industry. The event can be divided into two major portions: the exhibition and the conference. Several international and national exhibitors are participating in the exhibition. Also, the program designed for the conference is robust and includes a panel discussion on ‘Made in Pakistan: challenges and the way forward.
The organizers say under the overarching theme of “Sustainable Environments Through HVACR Technology,” this year’s expo transcends boundaries, bringing together the realms of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVACR), Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP), and cutting-edge Building Material Services. The fusion of these essential sectors underscores our commitment to creating a harmonious synergy that not only meets the needs of today but charts a course toward a sustainable and eco-friendly future.
This year’s event promises an immersive experience, featuring an expansive exhibition hall where the latest HVACR innovations, MEP solutions, and Building Material Services products will take center stage.
Attendees can expect thought-provoking conference sessions, hands-on workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities, creating an environment conducive to growth, learning, and collaboration.
As per the program of the moot, there are 10 sessions and a panel discussion on May 24 and 4 sessions and a panel discussion on May 25. The last day also includes three training sessions.
The first panel discussion ‘Made in Pakistan: challenges and the way forward’ would be an opportunity for a detailed exchange between the panelists which include Faheem Siddui, Shahzad Raza, Mohammad Aslam, and Umer Saeed.
While talking to Engineering Review, the leader of the Lahore chapter of the HVACR Society, M.Afzaal said they had given a 10 percent discount to local manufacturers. Society has been encouraging local manufacturing in Pakistan and it needs more effort to achieve more results.
Afzaal is of the view that the cottage industry should be encouraged through a robust program so that local manufacturing gets impetus. Also, he emphasized technology transfer in this respect.
Climate change: Cooling and Pakistan
In 2018, Pakistan accounted for 0.7% of the total global demand for air conditioning, with an estimated demand of 824,000 units out of 111 million globally. Researchers have predicted that the country has the fifth-greatest potential demand for air conditioning.
One of Pakistan’s problems is old technology. Before 2010, a refrigerant called R22, or R22 Freon, was used in cooling technologies worldwide but was found to be highly damaging to the ozone layer. In response, countries like the United States launched plans to replace it.
As a result, “China used Pakistan as its dumping ground by selling us soon-to-be discarded and obsolete ACs at dirt-cheap rates. Many amongst us, who would otherwise not have afforded them, were able to buy them,” Khurram Malik, former president of the Pakistan HVACR Society said some two years back. He promotes heating, ventilation, AC and refrigeration (HVACR) engineering sciences and technologies.
Pakistan has a very weak regulatory mechanism for managing old technology, he added. “Now the country is stuck with these contraptions.