Pakistani company designing solar projects for Saudi Arabia’s zero-carbon city

　　A company official said on Monday that Netline, a Pakistani critical power and energy solutions provider, is designing solar projects for the zero-carbon city that Saudi Arabia plans to build in NEOM.

　　In 2017. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans for the $500 billion NEOM business zone as part of his Vision 2030 reform plan, which aims to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to "zero" by 2060.

　　The NEOM zero-carbon city, known as "The Line," would span 170 kilometers and house a million people in "carbon-positive urban developments powered by 100 percent clean energy."

　　"The energy demand to power NEOM is approximately 20 GW," Umair Zavary, group director at Netline Group of Companies, told journalists on Monday in Karachi.

　　"Under an agreement signed last month, we are partnering with various NEOM contractors for backend consultation, design, and auditing of the project from Pakistan."

　　According to Zavary, the company first acquired a $3 million project to design NEOM's electrical system.

　　Netline, a family-owned energy and power company, recently received Series A funding at a $4.5 million valuation of its energy business. Though the amount of funding was not disclosed, the company's director stated that it would significantly support expanding a presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where an office has already been established for global outreach with supply chain partners.

　　"We are going to Riyadh in February next year to grow our business and look for more partners and opportunities," Zavary said, hoping that Pakistani engineers and experts would also travel to the Kingdom for installation purposes in the future.

　　Netline has installed solar systems with a total capacity of more than 10 MW at approximately 400 locations across the country.

　　The company intends to use the funds to expand and establish offices in other parts of the country, increase manpower, install charging stations for electric vehicles, and begin solar panel manufacturing in Pakistan.

　　We intend to begin production of solar panels in the third or fourth quarter of the following year, 2023. at a cost of $3.5 million in the first phase," said Uzair Zavary, another group director.

　　The company intends to produce 180 MW of solar panels in a joint venture with a Turkish company, for which manufacturing facilities on the outskirts of Istanbul have been acquired.