The Pakistan and Iran governments have inaugurated the 220 kV Polan–Gabd electricity transmission line project along with a marketplace at the Mand-Pishin crossing point.
The new line enables Iran to supply an additional 100 MW of electricity to Pakistan’s Gwadar port city taking the total transmission transfer capacity between the countries to over 200 MW. Polan is a town in Sistan-Baluchestan’s port city of Chabahar, Iran while Gabd is on the Pakistani side, 87 km from Gwadar. Notably, the upgrade of the 132 kV line to 220 kV will improve power transmission in Balochistan’s border areas in Pakistan. It involved an investment of IRR2,250 billion and was completed in a record time of four months. This new transmission line will supplement power purchased from Iran for the Makran region via the 132 kV Makran Division electricity transmission line. It plays an important role as it will meet the growing energy needs of the region, including households and businesses. Iran has been supplying electricity to Gwadar, Kech and Panjgur districts in Balochistan since 1999. Initially, the country was supplying about 35 MW, which was later increased to 100 MW from 2013 owing to increasing electricity demand in Gwadar.