LAHORE: Acting Managing Director (MD) of the National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan possesses bright chances of getting a contract of three years as permanent MD in the wake of interviews for the post on coming Sunday, said sources.
As many as 100 applicants have applied for the post, they said, adding they had no exact idea as how of them have been shortlisted for the interviews. It may be noted that the federal government had nominated Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar as MD on an acting charge basis as stop-gap arrangement for a period of six months through a notification dated 7th July 2022.
It was challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), followed by a court order and an advertisement for a fresh hiring. They said the IHC had already directed that no temporary or lookafter charge can be for more than 60 days, therefore, the NTDC should arrange for selection of a permanent MD by 20th December 2022.
The sources said that one prime reason for his much-likely selection for the office is his close relation with former speaker of Punjab Assembly Ch Muhammad Iqbal. Besides, they said, the acting MD has also maneuvered to invite the federal minister for energy to inaugurate groundbreaking, switching station projects and progress review of 12 projects countrywide. The federal minister has visited four projects so far, they added.
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The sources said an invitation from the MD NTDC for the groundbreaking of 12 projects in a short span of time suggests that he was making his best efforts to sustain his position in the organization for the next three years.
The list starts with a 500 KV Suki Kinari transmission line (75 km) project, which according to the sources, was started in 2020 and 50 percent of the work has already completed and the rest is pending but the MD is seeking ground breaking of the same by the minister.
The project in the list is 500 KV transmission line for Tarbela 5th Extension (50 km), which has not been awarded yet because of objections from the PPRA. The third one is CASA-1000 power project (DC converter station and 113 km DC transmission line), which has been completed up to 70 percent.
The fourth one is 220/132 kV Jhimpir-II G/S, which was awarded some six months ago and the construction work is already in progress. The fifth one is 220/132 kV Mirpurkhas G/S where 15 percent civil work has already been completed. Both the six and seventh projects belong to Balochistan while the eighth and ninth ones belong to special economic zones in Lahore and Faisalabad, which have been awarded but no construction work has started yet.
The 10th and 11th projects belong to Lahore and Jauharabad against whom no mobilization has taken place so far while no financial bid has been opened yet against the 12th one which is 765/500/220/132 KV Islamabad West G/S.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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