LAHORE: National Tr­­a­­nsmission and Despat­­ch Company Ltd (NTDC) has completed a 29km long double-circuit transmission line from Polan, Iran to Gwadar.

With the construction of the transmission line, Pakistan’s transmission system has become capable to evacuate an additional 100MW of Iranian electricity to various parts of Balochistan.

The testing of circuit-II of the transmission line was completed on Sunday, whereas testing of circuit-I would be carried out on Tuesday, according to an NTDC spokesman.

“The evacuation of 100MW power will be started shortly. The additional power from Iran will boost the confidence of the investors to tap the opportunities provided by the Gwadar region for their potential businesses,” he explained.

An official source told Dawn that the 10 million euros agreement for an additional 100MW was signed in June 2022 and the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) had assigned NTDC to complete this project to supply power to Gwadar and Makran regions.

Answering a question, he said the 132kV transmission line from Polan grid station to the Pak-Iran border—a total of 51km has already been completed while the 132kV line completed by Pakistan, which is measuring 29km) starts from the borderline and connects the Jiwani grid station in Pakistan from where it connects another line reaching Gwadar grid station.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2023