State Minister on Water and Power, Abid Sher Ali, said that the Nandipur power project was in doldrums but the intervention of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made it possible in the larger interest of the masses.
Briefing the media at the inauguration of the fourth (last) turbine of the Nandipur power project at Nandipur on Thursday, he said that Nawaz Sharif restored the power project which had gone to the dogs due to the inefficiency of the previous government.
“During his visit to China, Nawaz Sharif persuaded the Chinese companies to restart work after they had abandoned the project during the previous regime,” he added.
The minister said Rs 35 billion from the poor masses were put down the drain due to the inefficiency of the previous governments, adding that the initial cost of the project was Rs 23 billion but no work was undertaken for three years and the machinery for the Nandipur power project began to rot at the Karachi Port.
Abid Sher Ali said that completion was nowhere in sight when the PML-N government took over but the project was being run on full capacity today due to efforts of the PM.
He said that the Nandipur power project had been completed in time and within the allocated budget due to the pragmatic policies and hard work of the government.
The minister said inauguration of the fourth (last) turbine of the Nandipur power project would produce 425 MW of power, adding that the project is being run on a trial basis while it would start working on full capacity after three weeks.
He said that Nandipur was the best thermal power project after Guddu, which had a generation efficiency of 45 per cent. He said the project had three Combined Cycle Turbines with 95 MW production capacity and a steam turbine with 138 MW production capacity.
The minister said the Nandipur power project would be modified to gas with an estimated cost of Rs 2.5 billion by April 2016.
He challenged the critics of the Nandipur Power project, like PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Awami League Chief Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, to visit and see for themselves how the government has proved their claims about Nandipur false.
He said the PTI’s Google experts and so-called political analysts had claimed that the project would cost Rs 88 billion and the electricity unit from the Nandipur project would cost Rs 40-42 per electricity unit, adding that the price of an electricity unit from the Nandipur power project has been calculated at Rs 11.307 by NEPRA for the next 30 years.
The minister said politicians, who criticised Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, should themselves propose their new names after their prophesies have proved wrong, claiming that Shahbaz Sharif is a true servant of the masses and the PML-N government is fulfilling its promises.