Zhao Hang, an employee of China’s State Grid Shandong Electric Extrahigh Voltage Company, was one of the first batch of operation and maintenance personnel for the Matiari-Lahore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from 2020 to 2023.
“I went to Pakistan to help the operation and maintenance of the project during the last three years. Our work is to transmit Pakistan’s electricity from the south to the north. During the period I was abroad, I’d forged friendship with a lot of Pakistani employees.” Zhao said, after returning China in August this year, he placed a special gift of “family portrait” from his Pakistani apprentice on his desk.
According to Xinhua officially put into commercial operation in September 2021, the 886 km-long Matiari-Lahore HVDC transmission project was Pakistan’s first HVDC transmission project funded, constructed and operated by the State Grid Corporation of China.
To ensure the smooth operation of the project, batches of Chinese skilled engineers including Zhao bring China’s advanced HVDC technology from Jinan, the capital city of east China’s Shandong province, to Lahore, capital of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province.
While working on the project, Zhao befriended many Pakistani employees, including Muhammad Ashraf, his partner and apprentice.
“I was away from home during my time abroad, but my apprentice Ashraf gave me this painting of family portrait and I felt not that lonely. We Chinese spent festivals together with local employees. Now we still keep in touch, although the distance is far.” according to Zhao.
As an operation assistant supervisor of Lahore converter station, 26-year-old Ashraf has been working in the project for 3 years. His routine work is to inspect every core equipment like converter transformer, converter valve, smoothing reactor, AC filter and DC filter, as well as observe the operation status of each equipment in the Control Room of the station.
“Mr Zhao taught me a lot. we have become a good friend with each other in a short time. I can understand it is very difficult to work without family. That’s why I gave him the painting.” said Ashraf, adding that, under the guidance from Zhao and other Chinese engineers, the project not only helps young Pakistani engineers to learn advanced technologies to enhance the national power grid, but also provides a lot of jobs for locals.
Figure shows that Matiari-Lahore HVDC transmission project created around 7,000 local jobs during its construction period started in December 2018. And after commercial operation in September 2021, it transmits up to 35 billion kWh annually to about 10 million households.
Although Zhao has left Pakistan, Three years of friendship between the master and apprentice continues through the Internet. And deep friendship has been formed and enhanced between more and more employees from both countries under CPEC.
“Through the implementation of the CPEC, the two countries will further increase personnel exchanges in various industries, deepen mutual understanding and friendship between people of the two countries, and promote people-to-people bond.” Said Wang Jian, operation manager of Matiari converter station of the project.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, the flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking the Gwadar port in southwestern Pakistan with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation. Enditem
