The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday demanded the authorities develop the Frequency Allocation Board Headquarters Building in the federal capital to ensure environmental laws while executing the project.
The demand was raised in a public hearing of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the construction of Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) Headquarters Building Islamabad Monitoring Station, held here.
The hearing was participated by key officials of EPA, senior project management, civil society, experts and media, said a news release issued here.
The FAB project officials gave a detailed briefing on the socio-economic and environmental impact of the project, its scope, impact on the local population and environment. They also gave recommendations and a way forward being planned to mitigate all possible risks and implement the project for an all inclusive and beneficial project.
Nauman Afzal representing FAB project executing authority told the participants that the Monitoring Station Tower was intended to be set up for spectrum monitoring. “It will generate around 200 jobs and help to enforce compliance with international radio traffic regulations, as breaches can be recognized in time by means of radio surveillance and radio monitoring,” he added.
The spectrum monitoring is the key of telecommunication as it is used for wireless communication, and it helps spectrum managers to plan and use frequencies, avoid incompatible usage, and identify harmful interference.
The rapid modernization and expansion in the population of the country have resulted in mushroom growth of users of wireless devices and networks spiking from 0.3 million in 2001 to 160 million in 2018.
Afzal noted that it was necessary to construct the Islamabad Monitoring Station for the better monitoring, evaluation and management of the spectrum. He informed that state-of-the-art energy efficient technology for power and water saving would be implemented along with a 40KV solar panel installation to be built at the rooftop that would make up 20 percent of the total energy required.
