Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif here on Sunday chaired a meeting to review the progress of the spread of solar energy in the province with the cooperation of the Asian Development Bank and the AFD Bank of France.
The chief minister also reviewed progress on a 100 MW solar power agreement signed with Turkish company Zorlu Energi. While addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that as per the Asian Development Bank and AFD Bank of France programme, 15,000 schools in the province will be powered by solar energy
700 basic health centres and the University of Bahawalpur will also be powered by solar energy. The programme will be expanded in a phased manner, he added.
The chief minister said that the Punjab government is pursuing a comprehensive programme to use the energy of the sun. “The 100 MW solar power plant installed with our own resources is adding energy to the national grid. An agreement has also been signed with the Turkish company Zorlu Energi and this company is installing the 100 MW solar power plant in Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur, which will be completed in 6 months,” the chief minister said.
The chief minister also said that the Turkish company has also shown interest in installing another solar power plant of 200 MW in Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur.
The planning and development chairman, higher education secretary, school education secretary, health secretary, finance secretary, energy secretary, and other relevant officials also attended the meeting.