- Says load shedding for domestic consumers reduced to six hours
- Says 10,400 MW of electricity will be added to the system by 2018
Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said on Thursday that the electricity load shedding for domestic consumers has been reduced from 15 hours to six or seven hours, which will further come down in December this year.
He was speaking at a briefing to the civil society, media persons, and diplomats about the government’s performance during the last three years on Thursday.
The minister said that since October 2014, uninterrupted electricity is being provided to the industrial sector.
He said 10,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity will be added to the national grid by 2018, which will be the year of the end of load shedding.
He said technical and line losses have been reduced by 24 per cent, and Rs 10 billion have been saved in this respect.
Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha said that projects of 8,630 MW out of 10,400 MW are being implemented under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Giving a briefing on the performance of his ministry, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said uninterrupted gas is being supplied to the industries.
He said the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will be constructed by 2018, while the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will be completed by January 2020.
Briefing the participants about progress in the communications sector, National Highway Authority Chairman Shahid Ashraf Tarar said work is underway on 13 projects of motorways and highways across the country worth Rs 850 billion.
He said the length of motorways in the country will reach to 1800 kilometers by 2018.
The NHA chairman said Lowari Tunnel project will be completed in the first quarter of the next year. Under CPEC, Khunjerab will be connected to Gwadar. He said a 650 kilometer long highway from Gwadar to Sorab will be completed during the current year.
The participants commended the government’s performance in the last three years.
