Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his displeasure over the undue delays in the completion of Neelam-Jhelum power project which has also resulted in increase of its cost.
The prime minister conveyed his reaction while chairing 15th meeting of the cabinet committee on energy at the PM House on Thursday which lasted for four hours.
The meeting was given a detailed briefing on Neelam Jhelum power project. The meeting decided to form a committee to look into the possibility of privatizing the project or entering into partnership with some investor to ensure its timely completion. The committee would be tasked to present its report within three months. It was also decided that the project must be completed by the first quarter of 2017.
Secretary Water and Power Mr Younus Dagha updated the meeting on progress on ongoing power projects which are not part of CPEC including hydro, nuclear, LNG, wind and coal-based projects.
The meeting expressed the satisfaction that load shedding in the country is going as per the plan of around six hours in urban areas and around eight hours in rural areas. The prime minister directed that during the holy month of Ramazan there should be no load shedding from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm for Iftar and taraweeh and for Sehr there should be no load shedding one hour before and one hour after Sehr, while overall load shedding must not to exceed the approved limit.
