ISLAMABAD: The US and Pakistan on Sunday signed a 150 megawatt wind power generation project.
“Today, the governments of Pakistan and the US, together with American power company AES Corporation, agreed to create a public-private partnership to develop a 150mw, $375 million wind power generation project in the Gharo Corridor area,” said a US Embassy statement.
“The project will produce 150 megawatts of new, “clean” power serving some 600,000 homes and will reduce Pakistan’s dependence on imported fuel, saving Pakistani citizens $45 million per year,” it said.
“This project represents a meaningful, environmentally sound step toward addressing Pakistan’s energy crisis,” US special envoy Richard Holbrooke said. “Partnership with the private sector will demonstrate the potential of investing in the power sector in Pakistan,” he added.
According to the statement, the agreement is a concrete outcome of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. At the last meeting of the strategic dialogue on Oct 22 in Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced progress toward developing a public-private partnership to “draw on the potential of winds that blow down the Pakistani coastline”.
Today’s agreement was signed by USAID Pakistan Mission Director Andrew Sisson, Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Javed Iqbal, AES Country Director Iqbal Sheikh, and Holbrooke on behalf of the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
