NDMA to get locally made ventilators this week: minister.

Byline: Jamal Shahid

ISLAMABAD -- The Ministry of Science and Technology will hand over the first batch of eight to 10 locally-manufactured ventilators this week to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

'It is a matter of pride that now Pakistan is among countries that manufacture their own ventilators. It is particularly important because ventilators are complicated machines. Not a lot of countries have the capabilities to manufacture such complex machines,' said Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.

Experts at the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) were given the task to manufacture ventilators and oxygenators after the coronavirus started spreading in the country. The first batch of ventilators is now ready, said the minister in a video message.

Designs for three more variants of ventilators are in the final stages of approval, and will soon come into production, he said, adding: 'With the local manufacture of these ventilators, Pakistan will not only be ready to meet its requirements for these machines but will also be in a position to export these life-saving devices.'

He praised PEC, National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) and Pakistani engineers and scientists for what he called a significant achievement.

He recalled that immediately after the first cases of coronavirus were detected in Pakistan, Pakistan was importing life-saving equipment such as ventilators besides various brands of hand sanitisers and medical masks, which started falling short in supply in hospitals.

'In just a few months, not...