WB representative tells Shah the bank doesn’t fund coal-fired power generation anymore due to environmental issues but may help Sindh govt acquire technology for this purpose
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Monday urged the World Bank to assist Sindh government in low-cost power generation.
“We have one of the largest coal reserves in the world, enough to meet our energy requirements for centuries. We want you to help us in generating environmentally-friendly coal-fired energy in the province,” the chief minister said while talking to World Bank Country Director Illango Patchamuthu who called on him at the CM House.
The World Bank representative, however, said that the bank had stopped funding coal-fired power generation due to environmental issues. The chief minister reminded him that the World Bank was financing coal-fired power generation in South African countries. “Keeping in view that instance and our dire need the World Bank must consider our request,” he urged.
Syed Qaim Ali Shah also said that the World Bank could help Sindh government in acquiring new technology to generate environment friendly and cheap coal-fired energy. The World Bank country director assured that he would talk to his management to help Sindh government.
Senior Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Aijaz Ali Khan and Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput were also present on the occasion.
Senior Minister for Finance and Energy Syed Murad Ali Shah said that presently, World Bank was providing support in different projects of Agriculture Sector. The Sindh Agriculture Growth Project was worth mentioning, he added.
He said that another World Bank project of Rs30,139.75 million Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project was to be launched shortly and it would be completed by 2020-21.
The chief minister said that agriculture sector had substantial role in reducing nutrition gap. “But it is stagnant on different counts, including retardation of soil fertility, old fashioned cultivation practices and lack of cropping zoning and diversification,” he said adding that landless farmers, small landownership and sharecropping had seriously affected the situation.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah also urged the World Bank country director to help Sindh explore the avenues of overseas employment opportunities for skilled youth. “Under Benazir Youth Development Programme, we are imparting training to our youth in 70 different trades. If a chunk of our skilled youth is provided with overseas employment opportunities it would be a great help to reduce our burden and shape up their careers,” he said.
The chief minister thanked World Bank country chief for showing his interest in the development of Sindh and extending a helping hand to the Sindh government.