Tag Archives: Pakistan

An engineering marvel of the century! NEELUM JHELUM Project set to produce power next year

on 07/05/2017

Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Lt. Gen. Muzammil Hussain (R) has said the first unit of the project is planned to commence electricity generation by end February 2018 A communication said the second phase would begin in March and the third and fourth in April 2018. The project will contribute about 5 billion units of electricity to the National Grid every year. The 969 MW-Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) is scheduled to attain a major landmark, when the second Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) will achieve breakthrough of the Right Headrace Tunnel. The target set to achieve during the last week of April, marking the completion of excavation of over 68-kilometer long tunnel system of the project. The breakthrough of Left Headrace Tunnel was achieved in October 2016. To review the ongoing construction work on various sites of the project, Hussain today visited the under construction NJHP in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K). Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman said that it is a matter of satisfaction that overall progress on the project as of now is 92 percent, and the project is heading towards its completion in accordance with the stipulated work plan. During his visit to the headrace tunnel, the Chairman was briefed that following excavation of the tunnels, the water way system will enter the final phase which is scheduled to be completed in seven months. Thereafter, the tunnels will be ready to divert water from Dam site to the Power House. It was further briefed that impounding of the Reservoir will commence during October this year. Chairman WAPDA said that once completed, NJHP would be an engineering marvel of the century. It is worth mentioning that the first unit of the project is planned to commence electricity generation by end February 2018, second in March and the third and fourth in April 2018. The project will contribute about 5 billion units of electricity to the National Grid every year. (PR)

Chinese company to set up cross-border telecom infrastructure

on 07/05/2017

China Telecommunications Corp will set up resources to complete cross-border telecom infrastructure initiatives including the China-Pakistan information corridor, China-Laos-Thailand and China-Bangladesh-Myanmar-India projects. “Cross-border telecommunication infrastructure is one of the first steps for international cooperation,” Deng Xiaofeng, CEO of its international unit China Telecom Global Ltd said. “Our experience in deploying one of the world’s largest information networks in China can help narrow the digital gap,” he added. The company will invest more than $1 billion over the next three to five years to expand its presence in the economies along the Belt and Road Initiative including Pakistan. He said it will also raise more money from state-owned financing institutions and private investors, in a move to build land cables, internet data centers and other infrastructure in Southeast Asia, Europe and other regions. “State-owned and private capital are now keen to be part of our efforts. We also need their expertise to help us evaluate whether the plans are plausible,” Deng added. Deng said the company did not exclude the possibility of investing in foreign telecom carriers to help other developing countries accelerate the development of 4G. But Deng did not disclose more details. As of 2016, China Telecom has more than 4,700 overseas employees, with branches and offices in 30 countries and regions, most of which are along the Belt and Road. It has already built 13 internet data centers in six of them. According to data from the International Telecommunication Union, the Asia-Pacific region scored 4.58 in informatisation level in 2016, lower than the global average of 4.94. Xiang Ligang, a telecom analyst and founder of the telecom industry website cctime.com, said China Telecom was one of the first Chinese telecom carriers to go global, with the push starting in the 1990s. “Its expansion plans will also help more Chinese telecom equipment makers venture into overseas markets,” Xiang said. China Telecom expects that China’s plan to help economies along the Belt and Road improve telecom services will create a market worth $10 billion to $20 billion for the telecom industry over the next five years.

Sialkot Businessmen demand Parallel Support Industry

on 06/05/2017

Pakistan’s vibrant export hub, Sialkot, has asked the economic managers of the country to establish a parallel support industry to encourage businessmen and investors to play their part in a bid to complement the existing manufacturing setup of the country. “The support industry will help the export-oriented industries to cut their costs thereby reducing the import bill of the country,” said Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI) President Majid Raza Bhutta. He said it would make ‘made in Pakistan’ products more acceptable in cost-competitive global markets, hence increasing the export revenues of the country. Currently, the export sector of Pakistan relies heavily on import of raw materials especially from China for further value-addition and re-exports. This practice adds to the cost of doing business and is a major contributor towards increasing import bill. Bhutta said that Pakistan has seen many industrial surges where new industries were established yet no work has ever been done to invest in support industry. Despite all the recommendations of Sialkot’s business community, to protect and further enhance the diversification of product lines within the five key export industries the city is famous for, the stakeholders feel a sense of negligence from current as well as previous governments in acceptance of such demands. According to Bhutta, more than 99% of the city’s business is export-oriented and regardless of overall decline exports trend, Sialkot has managed to grip its exports share, which is around $2 billion. “We claim that in Pakistan there is no other city manufacturing export-oriented value-added products through Small and Medium Enterprises, we just need friendly policies not incentives from the government to further boost the export revenues,” he added.

World Bank to fund Peshawar-Kabul highway

on 02/05/2017

World Bank (WB) has agreed in principle to finance the mega project of building a highway between Peshawar and Kabul. This was disclosed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar after his meeting with Vice President of WB for South Asian Region Ms. Annette Dixon in Washington in April. Discussing the current economic situation in Pakistan, Dar said WB had been a great partner in the country’s development. Talking to the Pakistani delegation, Ms Dixon said WB would like to work more closely with Pakistan. She appreciated the initiatives taken by the Pakistani government for putting economy on the path of sustainable economic development. During the course of discussion, Dar proposed to WB to finance a major project of constructing a highway from Peshawar to Kabul for improving regional connectivity. The World Bank has agreed in principle to finance the project. Dar also proposed that WB might consider leading a consortium to finance Diamer Bhasha Project. Dar said the government took concrete measures to bring structural changes for the sustainable economic development in the country. The minister said the government had established a Micro Finance Company to extend such facilities to the poorer segments of the society. He informed WB team that Pakistan was one of the leading countries for ensuring financial development in the country and for this purpose a strategy had been devised which was being implemented thoroughly. He said 10 more laws were being enacted which aimed at further facilitating the private sector. In response to a question about policy reforms in Pakistan, he remarked that the parliament had so far passed 24 laws to create conducive and enabling environment for growth and private sector investment. In yet another communication, WB Group President Jim Yong Kim has said that the multilateral lender does not plan to change its stance on financing alternative energy projects and mitigating the effects of climate change. Asked about the Trump administration’s scepticism about climate change at a news conference, Kim said WB would continue to work with governments and the private sector to boost financing for alternative energy, especially in China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Vietnam. “The science of climate change didn’t change with any particular election, and I don’t see that it will,” Kim said. “We have to be an evidence-based organisation,” he added.