KARACHI – The Sindh government agreed to provide land for setting up a wind power project in Thatta district with the capacity to produce 150 megawatt electricity on Saturday. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah approved the project at a meeting held at the Chief Minister House’s House. The plant would be established through the public-private partnership mode.
According to an official handout, the chief minister said that people living in the coastal areas are facing many problems including the lack of a power facility and the present government’s priority is to provide them with basic facilities. He said that the coastal belt of Thatta district is a windy area and wind power can be generated in abundance there. The meeting was informed that the federal government has signed the stand of intentions for establishing a wind power plant with the generation capacity of 150 megawatt electricity.
The participants of the meeting were informed that there would be a 51 percent share of a private investment firm in the project while the remaining 49 percent cost would be borne by the federal government. The project is being implemented in collaboration with USAID. The Sindh government has committed to provide land for the project, for which four to five localities in Jhampir and Jati talukas of Thatta district have been identified.
The site selection will be completed within 10 days while the land would be allotted under a package. The meeting was further informed that the financial close would be achieved within 18 months and ground work would start within six to nine months.
The chief minister assured the participants of the meeting that the land required for the project would be provided within 10 days.
The meeting was attended among others by Sindh Environment and Alternate Energy Minister Shaikh Muhammad Afzal, Adviser to Chief Minister on Planning and Development Dr Kaisar Bengali, Adviser to Chief Minister on Investment Zubair Motiwala, Senior Energy Planning Adviser Chris Hauson, Programme Management Specialist Saeed Anwar, Board of Investment Secretary Younis Dagha, Environment and Alternate Energy Secretary Mir Hussain Ali, Sarah Pervaiz, Arif Pervaiz and Thatta EDO (Revenue) Dr Hafeez Sial.
