ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday admitted that the breakout of the coronavirus pandemic hampered progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the country.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the new 886 km-long 600 KV transmission line from Matiari in Sindh to Lahore, PM Imran vowed to speed up the pace of work on the CPEC projects.
He maintained that the Matiari-Lahore transmission line is a state-of-the-art project and it has been completed under the CPEC.
The PM said that the transmission lines are old and power losses are high, due to which even if there is electricity, it cannot be saved.
The increase in line losses puts a burden on the people, he said, hoping that the new project will save electricity.
PM Khan pointed out that the breakout of coronavirus created some hurdles, including the disruption of supply chains, which increased prices of essential commodities. But as the situation is improving, he said progress will again be visible on CPEC-related projects as well as bringing down inflation.
He said that because of COVID-19, the prices of food items have gone up all over the world. He added that vaccinations, however, are helping decrease the fear of coronavirus.
He said that in the power sector, there are 17% line losses on old transmission lines. Through this project, he shared, line losses will be 4%.
'CPEC has created 75,000 jobs'
In his remarks, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said the present government started construction work on the landmark project.
He said the project is now ready for electricity transmission after a testing phase of six months. He said other projects under the CPEC will also be completed on time and expressed the resolve to address the country's power related issues.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong said the Matiari-Lahore transmission line will realise the safety and reliability of the grid system, optimise energy distribution of the entire country and lower the electricity cost.
The Chinese ambassador said till now CPEC has brought investment of 25.4 billion dollars and created 75,000 job opportunities. He said the project has made significant contribution to the socio-economic development of Pakistan.
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