The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, communities and school children Tuesday celebrated the "Chinese Independence Day" with Chinese engineers supporting PPAF in the testing & commissioning of 306 KW Micro Hydro Power Project (MHP) at village Gazain, district Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to an announcement of the company here on Tuesday, Chinese culture and heritage was celebrated and the efforts of hundreds of Chinese engineers were recognized who are resiliently working for the completion of the Hydro Power Project in remote areas of Pakistan. On this occasion, Ghazi, Project Manager and Wazir, Former Nazim, village Gazain said, "Our friendship and cooperation with China has been exemplary. China has always supported Pakistan in all its endeavors and we hope this relation continues to strengthen in the future. We wish all our Chinese counterparts a prosperous Independence Day." Chinese Engineers team, Alen, Lui and Chen along with officials from PPAF, Integration and AKRSP participated in the event.
While addressing the ceremony, Alen told the students of PPAF funded community schools and the participating community members that "I love China" in Chinese language which they repeated again and again during the celebration. The Chinese engineers were excited for this wonderful reception on the occasion of Chinese Independence Day and appreciated the commitment of PPAF, AKRSP and the members of community for successful completion of Hydro Power Project in far-flung off-grid areas.
The Micro Hydro Power Project funded by KfW and implemented by PPAF, will provide electricity to 335 households with the population of over 3,000 individuals residing in the hard terrain of village Gazain, Yarkhoon Valley, Upper Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Chinese engineers are commissioning the micro hydro power projects at the sites.
Two other projects of 200 KW will benefit 700 households in Upper Dir and over 200 houses in Chitral respectively. PPAF is leading electrification drive of off-grid and remote areas through clean, green and reliable energy resources. The Renewable Energy team has initiated the final testing and commissioning of four completed mini hydropower projects (MHP) under the KfW funded HRE Project in Upper Dir and Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the support of Chinese engineers, project consultants and partner organisations. The project is being implemented by PPAF in strategic partnerships with Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), National Rural Support Programme (NRSP), Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), Community Motivation & Development Organisation (CMDO) and Social Action Bureau for Assistance in Welfare & Organisational Networking (SABAWON).
The final testing and commissioning include continuous operation of plant for at least 72 hours on varying load and discharge, full load testing and other technical tests. Commissioning of one more MHP at Golain, district Chitral is also underway. The team is expected to complete the process of commissioning of four MHPs in a month's time.
Relations between Pakistan and China have strengthened over the course of the years. The growing bilateral relations and the free trade agreement have helped Pakistan to ensure economic security through implementation of various projects such as China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is currently underway. Furthermore, the current discussions with China in line with CPEC are to engage them for several big projects in the hydropower, oil refinery and steel mills sectors. These jointly developed projects will result in long term positive impacts on the communities and will allow them to have access to important utilities.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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