Deal on additional 100MW of power for Makran Div: Khurram-led team leaves for Tehran today
ISLAMABAD: An official delegation led by Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan will leave for Tehran on Friday (today) on a three-day visit (March 10,-12, 2023) to finalise deal for additional 100 MW of electricity for Makran Division, official sources told Business Recorder.
Sharing the details, sources said, to meet the increasing energy requirements of Makran Division, Pakistan and Iran have agreed for a new 30 km long Polan-Gwadar interconnection for import of 100 MW electricity.
The 220 kV Transmission Line has recently been completed and required to be energized. However, Iranian side has indicated that before energisation of line, power supply agreement needs to be signed. In this regard working level meetings have been held but no agreement could be reached because Iranian side is demanding a very high price which is not economically viable for Pakistan.
The sources said, since the agreement is required to be concluded urgently, Power Division proposed that a delegation led by the Federal Minister for Power Division, be allowed to visit Iran for 3 days in the first week of March, 2023 for discussions with Iranian side to finalize the pricing of the additional 100 MW electricity and other ancillary issues.
The proposed delegation shall comprise the following :- (i) Khurram Dastgir Khan, Federal Minister for Power Division;(ii) Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional Secretary-1, Power Division;(ii) Rihan Akhtar, Chief Executive Officer, CPPA-G and Abdul Majid Khan, Chief Law Officer, CPPA-G.
The sources said, Pakistan had invited Iranian Minister for Energy for parleys on the agreements as Iran was pressing on revision in existing agreement for upward revision in tariff.
The project was suspended due to difficulties for quite some time and the two sides achieved success in June 2022 by agreeing to and signing amendments in the existing agreements to operationalise the first phase of project by construction of 29km transmission line till Jiwani which will help overcome electricity shortages in the area.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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