Following last year’s disastrous floods, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $554 million funding package comprising new and reallocated funds to help recovery and reconstruction operations.
By building a transmission network and expanding existing substations, the loan would assist National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) in fulfilling the increased demand for power at the load centers of Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the issued statement, “The financing, which includes a $475 million loan and a $3 million technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and a $5 million grant from the Government of Japan, will support the restoration of irrigation, drainage, flood risk management, on-farm water management, and transport infrastructure in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh,”
Additionally, the project’s equipment and supplies will be utilized to repair transmission lines damaged by recent flooding and other damages noted in the disaster recovery framework that the government is now developing with assistance from the ADB, World Bank, EU, and UN.
The project will have two outputs: acquiring commodities for the operation and maintenance of NTDC assets to decrease substation breakouts and adding 2,680MVA in substation capacity and about 350km of transmission lines through six subprojects.
ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said, “This project will help to rebuild critical infrastructure in affected areas and restore rural livelihoods,”
Following the project’s commissioning in 2026, a 13,481 GWh increase in power sales and a corresponding 135 GWh decrease in transmission network loss is anticipated.
According to an ADB report, the project is expected to have a positive medium- to long-term impact on the country’s overall power sector and economy by addressing new transmission network needs following floods, scaling up the transmission infrastructure to keep up with the growing generation capacity, and reducing circular debt through dependable and unrestricted electricity.