Punjab Government Is Setting-up 5 EV Charging Stations On Motorway

Last year The inauguration of two EV charging stations at Bhera and Pindi Bhattian, just outside the M-2 Motorway today brought a big sigh of relief to Electric Vehicle owners of Islamabad and Lahore. Now the Government has announced to set up of five new electric vehicle charging stations on highways and motorways across the country. The existing two stations have been designed, manufactured, and installed by Tesla Industries, Pakistan.

According to the official documents, charging stations for electric vehicles are being installed at Rashakai Service Area (Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway, M-1), Tandliyanwala Service Area (Lahore-Islamabad Motorway, M-3), Dandewal Service Area (Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad, Khanewal Motorway M-4), Khanewal Service Area (Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad, Khanewal Motorway M-4), and Hazara Service Area (Hassanabdal-Havelian Expressway E-35). The NHA has included EV charging stations in the contracts of filling stations. The stations are equipped with one 120 kWh charger (it takes 40 minutes to fully charge a 70 kWh battery) and one 60 kWh charger (it takes more than an hour to fully charge a 70 kWh battery). 

The authorities have made sure that the contractor(M/s MORE (Pvt) Ltd) is installing the EV charging stations same keeping in view the number of electric vehicles commuting on a particular road. Moreover, M/s MORE (Pvt) Ltd being the BoT concessionaire of M-2, has installed an EV charging facility at Bhera Service Area on M-2. With the gradual increase in the number of EV vehicles, other fuel stations across the motorway network will also install EV charging facilities. The chargers for the vehicles are being developed by the Sir Syed University of Engineering. Work is also ongoing on the development of faster chargers to reduce charging time. 

The chargers have been prioritized by the government because they will soon be releasing ‘Nur-E 75’. Nur-E 75 is the country’s first indigenous electric vehicle, was planned and built by the DICE Foundation, an American non-profit organization managed by expatriate Pakistanis in the US, Europe, and other countries, with assistance from local academia and industries.

Dr. Khurshid Qureshi, Chairman, Founder of the DICE Foundation, and an expert in the development of autonomous vehicles, stated during the presentation that Pakistan has only imported innovation since its inception 75 years ago, whereas others such as South Korea and China have thrived throughout the time frame. All components of the chargers have been developed in Pakistan, and the design has been created by the National College of Arts (NCA). 

The car will be able to cover a distance of 210km at a speed of 120KMPH after charging for eight hours via a 220V connection. The ‘Made in Pakistan’ car is being described as a milestone for the country’s economic stability. The revolution of electric vehicles is making its way into the global auto industry and Pakistan has also taken the first step in this regard. The project will likely end all economic challenges in the country. 

For commercial production, capital will be raised through Series A, B, and C rounds of funding. The car will be launched under the brand name JAXERI. While the initial prototype is a five-seater hatchback, the next phase will produce a sedan and later SUVs will also be produced, according to the plan. Mass production of cars will save the environment and preserve foreign exchange spent on fuel imports. Pakistan will be at par with developed countries in the technology of electric cars and domestic economic stability will be easier with access to this technology. 

According to the officials, there are up to 85 locations across motorways, which are available for the development of DC-fast charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, according to a report. The report titled ‘Developing Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Across Highways and Motorways of Pakistan’, was prepared to highlight the issues and potential being faced by the users in the adoption of EVs by the LUMS’ energy institute in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and the National Centre in Big Data and Cloud Computing (NCBC). 

“There are almost 85 locations across M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5, M-9, and N-5 available for the development of DC-fast charging infrastructure for Electric Vehicles (EVs) to prevent ‘range-anxiety’ in the adoption of modern electric cars in Pakistan,” 

Pakistan has signed the Paris Climate Agreement and has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country by 20 percent by 2030. As one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement, it gives a great opportunity to Pakistan to seek help from the international community to deal better with its environmental issues. As Pakistan is an agrarian economy, any drastic changes in the environment will have an adverse impact on its national economy.

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