- Nawaz Sharif lays foundation stone of Sahiwal’s 1,320 MW coal-fired power projects
- Says pace of energy generation work shows govt’s seriousness in eliminating outages
- Punjab CM says PML-N fulfilling promises made to masses during election campaign last year
Expressing his unwavering resolve to rid the country of electricity outages, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday said that the country would be able to produce around 22,000 mega watts (MW) of more electricity in the next eight to nine years.
While addressing the ground breaking ceremony of Sahiwal’s 1,320 MW coal-fired power projects, the premier said that the present government’s efforts for energy generation reflected its commitment and resolve to combat the energy crisis.
The prime minister said that he had discussed the project with Chinese investors and had asked Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif to initiate coal-fired power projects in Punjab.
“It is the result of hard work and seriousness of the government that the foundation stone of the project was laid in a short span of two months after the idea conception,” he said, hoping that the project would be completed in two years, instead of the stipulated period of 30 months, due to the speedy pace of work.
A Chinese consortium of Huaneng Shandong and Shandong Ruyi Group has invested in the Sahiwal project, spanning over 1,000 acres of land.
The projects will be built in two phases with two units of the first phase producing 1,320 MW of electricity and two units of the second phase producing 1,000 MW of electricity each.
The project comprising two units of 660 MW each will be operational in two years time and start adding electricity to the national grid by 2016.
The prime minister thanked the people of China and their government for initiating the Pak-China Economic Corridor under which several development projects would be launched in due course of time.
The Sahiwal project is one of the projects in the Sino-Pak Economic Corridor Programme and it would be Pakistan’s largest coal-fired power plant which would be completed by November 2016.
The prime minister said that the country was facing acute energy crisis, which the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government had inherited from previous governments, adding, “We are committed to resolving the problem effectively and at the earliest.”
Sharif also said that the project was a reward for the people of Sahiwal as they had given a heavy mandate to the PML-N in the general election 2013.
The Nandipur Power Project would start generation formally today (Saturday, May 31) that amply proved the government’s seriousness in pursuing power projects, he added.
The prime minister said that the Sino-Pak Economic Corridor Programme would be a game changer for both Pakistan and China. He elaborated that under the programme, a 2,700-Km long highway from Kashghar to Gwadar would be built with industrial zones on its either sides along with the construction of a modern airport at Gwadar, Pakistan Railways’ up-gradation, and Lahore-Karachi Motorway for which the government would allocate Rs 55 billion in the upcoming budget for land acquisition.
The Corridor Programme, he added, also incorporated coal-fired power projects including 10 projects at Gaddani, six in the Punjab including Sahiwal, 10 at Thar and two each at Jamshoro and Port Qasim.
The prime minister said the Bhasha and Dasu dams would produce 4,500 MW each, asserting that he had directed quarters concerned for early completion of the 969 MW Neelam-Jehlam Hydropower Project.
Sharif said that over the last 65 years, the country had managed to establish 23,000 MW power generation capacity which had reduced to 13,000 MW operational capacity.
SHAHBAZ SAYS PROMISES BEING FULFILLED:
In his address, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said that following the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N was fulfilling the promises made with the masses during its election campaign.
Shahbaz said that China had always stood by Pakistan in every time of difficulty. He said Chinese economic cooperation and huge investment by installing energy and other projects in Pakistan, especially in Punjab, would prove to be a milestone in development and prosperity in the region.
Chinese dignitaries in their address expressed the resolve to continue cooperation through joint ventures with Pakistan.
The Ruyi Group chairman said that the consortium would complete the Sahiwal project with full dedication. “It is our passion to invest in Pakistan that is a land of opportunities due to its excellent strategic and geographic position,” he added.
The Huaneng Shandong general manager said the Sahiwal coal-fired power project would not only usher in a new era of development and prosperity in Pakistan but also further cement Sino-Pak friendship.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif and Chinese Embassy’s economic consular were also present on the occasion.
