Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak presided over a meeting of Board of Directors of KP Energy & Power Development Fund here at Chief Minister Secretariat that approved the transfer of Rs 15 billion back to the board fund.
It also decided to provide 76 MW of Electricity ready for production in June-July through Draul Khwar and Machai for the industrial consumption comparatively at a cheaper rate for the industrial growth as per policy of the provincial government.
The meeting also agreed that the electricity produced thus could be extended to the Kheshgi and Warsak irrigation system as the electricity billing of both was in crores. EZDMC would take care of the additional electricity of the province being produced from different hydro power projects and would sell it out to different buyers.
The meeting was attended by provincial ministers Muhammad Atif Khan, Muzafar Said, ACS Azam Khan, administrative secretaries and other members of the board. The meeting debated the previous decisions of the board and approved the minutes. The meeting also cleared Rs 1 billion for the solarization of one thousand mosques and the retransfer of the allocation to the Energy Development Fund. The chief minister asked the quarters concerned to keep him aware of any emergency or the emergence of abnormality at the site and infrastructure of natural gas at Karak.
He stressed to create conducive environment for negotiation taking the stakeholders on board. At the same time he assured he would take the issue and the concern of the locals with the federal government. The federal government, he added should initiate the extension of natural gas to the agreed areas falling at the radius of 5 km.
The meeting also agreed to the excavation of Lucky Block having the oil potential. The meeting approved the seismic and geological survey of the Lucky Block and stressed for a focus approach in order to get tangible results and the performance was visible too. The project would cost Rs 5 billion for which an initial amount was approved by the board. Different projects in oil and gas would increase the royalty in billions and strengthen the resource base of the province that could be spent on the people’s welfare.
The board also agreed to prepare a PC-1 for estimation and excavation at Mughal Kot and Mattani where the seepage was reported and the potential of natural gas was there. A formal decision would be taken after the feasibility report. At the moment it was creating a threat to environment, the meeting noted.
Pervez Khattak agreed to add resources to the hydel power fund in the next fiscal year and asked the participants to explore different avenues for raising fund through different mechanism.
The chief minister directed for resource generation to fund different ADP schemes. He agreed to add Rs.2 billion to the Billion Tree Tsunami project in order to escalate the ongoing tree plantation drive in the province. He said his government has a people-friendly agenda that requireed resources and energy and he would never compromise on his agenda for change and simultaneously he would go ahead with the development strategy that was of prime importance to certain areas which lacked behind in the development race. It was his responsibility to ensure sharing of resources judiciously and also see that the benefits of these resources reach the people who needed these resources the most at the moment.
Pervez Khattak said that he valued time and resources adding that the efficient resources at the right time and proper investment at right place and area were the key elements that ensured maximum fruits to the province and the people. This province had a lot of resources and the investors had already pulled their sleeves to land here and invest here for maximum return of their investment adding that in the given circumstances, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was fast becoming the all time right destination for the investors.
He said that he will take care of the hydro potential projects to generate maximum electricity for onward transmission to the industrialization process in the province. He counted a number of agreements concluded with different foreign countries especially Chinese for the production of run of the river and other hydel power projects in the province. However, he was also particular about the oil and gas production advantages of the province where a sizable investment would come in the near future. ‘We have explored areas that needed to be exploited for tracking the province to expeditious development’. He also talked about the unmatched incentives his government offered to the potential investors. He said his government discarded the past practice of making political statements. His government was committed to what it was doing that will lead to durable and secure future of the province. He also recounted different interactions with foreign investors wherein he was assured investment in different sectors of the province.
