LAHORE -  National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited (NTDC) has been entrusted by the government to improve and enhance the existing Electricity and Power Transmission and Dispatch network.

In this regard, one of the projects NTDC had to undertake was the development and construction of 250 Kilometer long 500KV Double Circuit Transmission Line from Engro Thar to Matiari, Hyderabad Switching Station and the construction of Two Line Bays/Shunt Reactor at Matiari Switching Station. This transmission line is of great significance to the country as it will evacuate around 1,200MW of electricity from the region of Thar where power projects are being set up to utilise indigenous coal as the primary fuel. The total cost of this project being undertaken by NTDC is Rs22.3 billion.

For this project, NTDC had solicited debt arrangement offers from various financial institutions for an amount of Rs18 billion along with Letter of Credit Facility of over Rs15 billion for building transmission network. The consortium of Askari Bank Limited, Faysal Bank Limited and Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited (DIBPL as the Sharia Adviser) won the mandate in December 2015 after a competitive bidding process.

The transaction is a combination of Islamic and conventional mode of financing wherein Rs6.5 billion have been arranged in the conventional mode, whereas Rs11.5 billion have been arranged in the Shariah Compliant Mode. This transaction has a door-to-door tenor of 15 years.

To mark the financial close of the transaction, a signing ceremony was hosted by Askari Bank Limited in Karachi on January 11, 2017. NTDC Managing Director Dr Fiaz A Chaudhry was the chief guest on the occasion. The banks were represented by Askari Bank Limited President & CEO Syed Majeedullah Husaini, Faysal Bank Limited President & CEO Nauman Ansari, Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited Corporate and Investment Banking Group Head Zubair Haider Shaikh along with members of their respective teams.

NTDC GM (GSC) Wajahat Saeed Rana, NTDC Finance Director Hammad Ahmed, NTDC Finance Additional GM Shaikh Waseem Saadat and NTDC Finance Deputy Manager Mohammad Masood Anjum were also present on the occasion.