A three-member committee comprising federal ministers for petroleum, water and power and adviser on finance, has been constituted to review the energy situation and give its recommendations to improve the power situation in the country.
This decision was taken by Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso while chairing a high level meeting to review the energy situation in the country.
The meeting was informed that the current power generation in the country was 9,200 MW against a demand of 13,000MW. The PM was informed that only 55 mmcfd gas was being provided to the thermal power plants against the promised 150mmcfd gas.
The meeting also reviewed the position of recovery of dues and the quantum of funds required to produce optimum generation. It was also decided during the meeting to setup a mechanism to monitor the generation and demand of electricity in the country. The PM directed the Ministry of Water and Power to ensure that uninterrupted electricity was available in the country for the evening of May 10 for the next 36 hours to ensure that the process of polling and counting of votes is completed smoothly.
Gwadar-Ratodero Road: Meanwhile, presiding over another meeting to review progress on the Gwadar-Ratodero Road, Prime Minister Khoso said the government will accelerate the pace of work on the project so that people of Pakistan could reap the benefits of the Gwader port.
Khoso issued instructions that work on Khuzdar-Ratodero section and Hoshab-Gwadar section should be completed during the next 12 months while work on N-85 Road and N-30 should be prioritised for early completion of these linkages with Gwadar.
The PM was informed that the total road network of the country was spread over 12,131 kilometres of which over 37 percent of the roads comprised those in Balochistan. He said that the completion of this road is not only important for linking Gwadar with the rest of the country but it would also stimulate development in the area from Gwadar up till Ratodero.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Communication Asadullah Khan Mandokhel‚ Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Shahid Amjad Chaudhry and Chairman National Highway Authority Hamid Ali Khan.
