Infrastructure construction to achieve green development in Pakistan: PowerChina

September 29, 2020: With the construction of industrial parks under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the advancement of infrastructure in Pakistan, it is believed that the supply chain of infrastructure projects in Pakistan will be improved in the future, said Wang Yantao, Executive Vice President of PowerChina International Group Limited.

Taking advantage of its leading position in the field of electric power, POWERCHINA actively carries out infrastructure construction in Pakistan, such as Qasim coal-fired power plant, Dawood wind power project, Tarbela 4th extension hydropower project, and Haveli gas power plant.

Despite the severe impact on domestic and foreign logistics in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, POWERCHINA has gone all out to safeguard the delivery of equipment and material, anti-epidemic products in particular, and ensure the operation of construction without shutdown.

"POWERCHINA has provided nearly 10,000 jobs in Pakistan. Instead of dismissing any employees during the epidemic, it provided a centralized working and living environment to protect them from coronavirus infection."Wang in an interview with China Economic Net.

With both Chinese and Pakistani staff sticking to their posts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Qasim coal-fired power station saw an increase in its electric energy production this year, in accordance with the Pakistani government's requirement for power dispatch. "It generated 6000GWh of electricity in the first eight months of this year alone, reaching a record high," Wang said.

As Pakistan has a large demographic dividend, its complete education system, and vocational skills training system have cultivated engineers and technicians with qualified skills, as well as financial management personnel, said Wang, citing POWERCHINA-invested Dawood Power Generation Company, which hires only one Chinese employee, while the rest is locally recruited.

Wang added that while Pakistan boasts rich building materials of superior quality, such as cement, sand, and wood, there's a lot of room to push forward the industrialization by establishing its own industrial system to save foreign exchange and increase added value.

In the field of project contracting and infrastructure construction, Pakistani companies have made rapid progress through working side by side with Chinese enterprises on some large projects.

"While Pakistani project contracting enterprises have advantages in human resources, project management needs to be strengthened through cultivating talents with comprehensive quality and more effective integration with international resources," Wang commented.

In the future, POWERCHINA is set to deepen its win-win cooperation with the Pakistani side, especially in the area of people's livelihood, such as water and housing construction.

"With the support of the Chinese and Pakistani government, we hope to actively participate in the construction of ML-1 railway project to drive Pakistan's capacity building, setting up a milestone to China-Pakistan friendship," Wang said.

APP