PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday signed an agreement with a private company to construct a 40-kilometre-long 132/220KV power transmission line from Matiltan to Madyan area of Swat at a cost of Rs8 billion.

The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the Chief Minister’s House, where officials from Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (Pedo) and M/S Netracon Technologies Limited signed the agreement in the presence of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a statement issued here said.

Besides the cabinet members, senior officials of the energy and power department were also in attendance.

The transmission line, which would be completed within one and a half year, would evacuate electricity generated by the 84MW Matiltan hydropower project and other provincial government projects in Swat to the national grid or supply it at discounted rates to local industries.

Gandapur says project to help provide cheap electricity to local industries

The project on completion is expected to generate approximately Rs7 billion annually for the provincial government, the statement said.

The transmission line is the Phase-1 of the integrated study plan of the Swat Corridor Transmission Line project. Under the Phase-II of this project, an additional 80km line will be laid from Madyan to Chakdarra.

Currently, several hydropower projects with generating capacity of hundreds of megawatts are underway in Swat Corridor.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur termed the power transmission line project as of vital importance for the sustainable development of the province.

He said that it was one of the provincial government’s flagship projects and a significant achievement.

He said that the completion of this project would bring about a revolution in the energy and industrial sectors of the province.

“Through this power transmission line, the provincial government will be able to provide cheap electricity to local industries, which will help attract more investors to the province,” he added.

Mr Gandapur said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had immense potential for hydropower generation, and his government was working to effectively harness this potential to promote development, prosperity and employment opportunities for people.

The chief minister said that the provincial government was also working on establishing its own power regulatory authority, which will further strengthen this initiative and help leverage existing hydropower resources as a foundation for provincial growth and development.

He added that his government had approved the implementation of eight flagship projects in various sectors of the province, with this power transmission line being one of the key projects among them.

The statement said that following the signing of the agreement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa became the first province in the country to undertake the construction of its own power transmission line.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024