Mushahid Hussain declares Thar future energy hub of country

Parliamentary Committee on CPEC pays three-day visit to Sindh, reviews progress on development projects

Led by its chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, the Parliamentary Committee on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) paid a three-day visit to Sindh from January 28 to 30 to review the progress of the CPEC projects.

The Parliamentary Committee first visited Port Qasim coal power project which, upon completion, will produce 1320 MW of electricity. Members of the Committee had a detailed briefing and visited the actual site and saw the progress being made. The members expressed satisfaction with the pace of work and progress of the project.

The Parliamentary Committee called on Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Qaim Ali Shah and briefed him about the purpose of the visit and the working of the committee.

Senator Mushahid Hussain said that CPEC is a strategic, national project which is above any person, party or province or even government. He said that the project spans 15 years and will unite the federation of Pakistan through progress and prosperity in various fields of economic and social development.

The Parliamentary Committee also raised some issues pertaining to the Port Qasim power project with the chief minister, who promised to fulfill and cooperate in its completion. The Sindh government also presented their proposals regarding energy and economic development and Senator Mushahid Hussain assured them that their concerns would be raised in the Committee. Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was invited to attend the next meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on CPEC in Islamabad. He promised to attend the meeting with his team to present their perspective regarding the energy projects and the proposal for a port at Keti Bandar.

Senator Mushahid Hussain also paid a visit to Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan at the Governor’s House and briefed him on the work of the Committee. The governor expressed satisfaction on the performance of the Parliamentary Committee and said that CPEC was the guarantor of Pakistan’s future progress.

The Parliamentary Committee traveled by road to Thar and visited Mithi and Islam Kot and visited the first project in Pakistan devoted to generating energy through its indigenously mined coal. Senator Mushahid Hussain told the Chinese and Pakistan experts working on the site that the Committee had decided to visit the site in person and the parliamentary delegation including representative from FATA, KP, Punjab and other provinces and that this showed a commitment of the entire Pakistani nation to fully support the Thar power project.

The members of the committee including MNA and Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani, MNA and Parliamentary Leader of FATA Alhaj Shahji Gul Afridi and MNA and Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Mohammad Afzal said that Thar is the energy future of Pakistan and that Thar Coal Project has finally been revived after 25 years which is a historic development. He said that the project shows not only a national commitment to Thar which is one of the less developed areas of Pakistan but also a national consensus since the project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and then President Asif Ali Zardar in January 2014.

Members of the committee urged that the local inhabitants of Thar, who are primary stakeholders, must be provided jobs and that the youth and women be given priority in this regard. They also expressed satisfaction on the provision of clean drinking water to various points in the area. They visited Asia’s largest Solar Hybrid Water Desalination Plants in Mithi which supplies two million gallons of water and in Islam Kot which supplies 1.5 million gallons of water to the people of the area. They proposed the establishment of a technical training institute for youth.

Points were also raised during the meeting about the provision of security in Thar which the committee promised to take up at the highest level in Islamabad.