ISLAMABAD: The Chinese government has agreed to supply 21 fire and rescue vehicles to Pakistan for use by the Fire Directorate of Emergency and Disaster Management under the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad.
As per media report, the Economic Affairs Division has received a confirmation letter in response to Pakistan’s request, under which 19 fire trucks, 1 multi-functional rescue vehicle, 1 multi-functional rescue excavator, and supporting services will be provided to Pakistan.
The vehicles comprise 4 aerial platform fire trucks, 5 water tank fire trucks, 6 water tower fire trucks, and 4 equipment fire trucks.
The total cost for the Chinese side to complete the above-mentioned work is 72.31 million RMB, which will be covered under the grant outlined in the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement signed between the Governments of China and Pakistan on April 28, 2019.
The Chinese side will ship these vehicles by sea to Karachi port at its own expense and provide a one-year defect-free quality guarantee. Additionally, it will send three technical personnel and an interpreter to Pakistan for a 15-day technical service, offering guidance and training on the use and maintenance of the equipment.
Read More: CDA assures Islamabad’s air quality under control amid rising smog concerns
The letter further conveyed that the Pakistani side will be responsible for the use, management, and maintenance of these vehicles, while tax exemptions, customs clearance, pick-up, domestic transportation, warehousing, distribution, and other matters upon the vehicles’ arrival will be the sole responsibility of the Pakistani government.
These vehicles will display Chinese Foreign Aid logos in prominent positions to indicate that they are provided by the Chinese government.
Torrential rain in Spain causes further disruptions and flooding. Upon inquiry, it was stated that the Pakistani government would now send a confirmation letter, after which the vehicles are expected to be dispatched to Pakistan in the first quarter of 2025.
These vehicles will be provided to the Directorate of Emergency and Disaster Management, which currently operates 25 fire tenders and four snorkels.
However, the snorkels are equipped with only a 68-meter high ladder, which means they cannot reach high-rise buildings in case of an emergency.
The last induction in the capital city’s fire brigade was in 2006 after a massive fire eruption incident in Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat building on main Jinnah Avenue.
Since then the subject remained neglected and a couple of attempts to bring modernization and capacity building in the directorate could not succeed besides tall claims of the successive managements.
Meanwhile, the civic agency has also been unable to begin work on the four sub-fire station projects initiated in 2008 due to budget constraints.
