ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line project will be completed timely at a cost of $1658.34 million in order to transfer 4,000MW electricity from Thar and other projects at Sindh. This 878km long transmission line project is a China Pakistan Economic Corridor priority project and also the first private sector transmission line project being developed under the Transmission Line Policy 2015. Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) issued a Letter of Invitation and LOS for this project and got a tariff from National Electric Power Regulatory Authority while China Electric Power Equipment & Tech Company (CET) is the sponsor of the project. As per plan, the project will be completed in the first quarter of 2021. The project is being developed under Build Own Operate & Transfer for a term of 25 years. PPIB is actively monitoring the project and determined to complete it well in time. The PPIB has already completed 37 private power projects of 15,500MW and fetched an investment of $17 billion making the completion of this transmission line project another milestone. The Matiari Lahore project is not only the first transmission line project being developed by the private sector, but it will also be the first ever HVDC transmission line in Pakistan which features converter stations at both ends and grounding electrode stations near Lahore and Matiari. The HVDC transmission system offers many advantages for power transmission over longer distance in terms of more transmission capacity, lesser losses and cost effectiveness. It would be bipolar HVDC technology, having approximately 880 kilometres length and will evacuate more than 4,000MW of coal based electricity from projects in Sindh. The projects which will be connected with this transmission line include Engro Thar 660MW, Thar coal block- I 1,320MW, Port Qasim 1,320MW and Hub Power Port Qasim 1,320MW etc. Published in Daily Times, July 9th 2018.