Muhammad Muneeb, a Pakistani employee specializing in desulfurization and ash removal at the Operation Department of Sahiwal Power Station of Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Pakistan), was among the 18 Pakistani workers honored with the medal of “Outstanding Pakistani Employee” of CPEC for their contributions to the construction of Gwadar Port, energy and infrastructure projects, at the end of 2020. The Sahiwal coal-fired power station was termed by the Pakistani government as “a miracle in the history of electricity construction in Pakistan” because the construction of the station took a mere 22 months and 8 days. The power station helped provide electricity to 20 million Pakistani people, and made outstanding contributions to the upgrading of Pakistan’s power industry and adjustment of the power supply structure. A major operator of desulfurization and dash removal in the Operation Department of Sahiwal Power Station of Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Pakistan), Muhammad Muneeb has borne witness to the commissioning and commercial operations of the power station for more than three years.
Muhammad Muneeb conducts maintenance work Born in the small village of Haveli Lakha, Muneeb dreamed of going to college and bringing his family out of poverty when he was a child. Therefore, he kept studying hard and his efforts paid off when he was admitted to the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in 2011. However, he had to take a one-year gap to earn money for his tuition, and in the following year, he went to UET and graduated with distinction in 2015. The same year, Muneeb joined Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Pakistan) and in the process, his dream of lifting his family out of poverty becomes a reality. During the 9-month training sessions in China in 2015, Muneeb was diligent in learning technical skills and Chinese, and remained friendly and polite to his colleagues and seniors. This has won him praise and friendship from Chinese masters.
Muhammad Muneeb gives a presentation In October 2016, Muneeb completed his training and returned to the Sahiwar project site with his professional leader and master. Since then, he has been working hard to enhance his technical skills and transformed himself from a fresh graduate to a major operator for a 660MW coal-fired power station. Apart from his job promotion, Muneeb has seen a great pay rise which has helped lift his family out of poverty. In 2020, when the COVID-19 virus ravaged the globe, Sahiwal Power Station took strict epidemic control measures and adopted the closed-off management, with an aim to protect the health of the Chinese and Pakistani employees in the power station, maintain the stable operations of the power station and provide a steady supply of electricity for the civilian and production uses in Pakistan. During that time, Muneeb offered to maintain the operations of the desulfurization and ash removal system due to short staffing.
Muneeb is a thoughtful and active worker, and he has a lot to teach others including his modesty and kindness in daily life, and hard work and great vision at work. Currently, Muneeb regains his confidence as he improves his livelihood. In the future, he will continue to enhance his professional knowledge and head to a higher position. He will grow with the Sahiwal Project and the Belt & Road initiative to achieve new heights in life. The Chinese version of this article was first published in China Economic Herald.
