WAPDA directed to ensure power generation from Neelum Jhelum by end of 2015
- September 25, 2013, 7:48 pm
- Business News
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ISLAMABAD, Sep 25 (Online): The Minister of State for Water and Power Chaudhry
Abid Sher Ali has directed WAPDA to ensure that the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project starts generating electricity by the end of 2015 in line with the directions of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
State minister directed WAPDA to expedite construction work on the project, adding
that meeting of timelines by the concerned organizations is a key to overcoming the challenge of power outages in the country.
The Minister of State for Water and Power expressed these views during his 2-day visit to the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project located in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. He was accompanied by a delegation of Saudi
Development Fund and Islamic Development Bank during the visit. Chairman WAPDA Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project Lt. General (R) Muhammad Zubair,
representatives of the consultants and the contractors and other senior officers of WAPDA were also present on the occasion.
During the visit, the Minister of State had a detailed round of the various sites including powerhouse, transformers hall and the weir (dam) to witness the progress on the project. He also observed the operation of Tunnel Boring Machines deployed at the project.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Water and Power said that energy security figured at the top of the federal government’s agenda, saying that the country’s economic and industrial development suffered a great deal due to energy deficits. He, however, added that the PML-N’s government is determined to rid the country of the menace of load-shedding by 2018. He said that National Power Policy 2013 has all the answers to the raging energy problem as it incorporates short, medium and long-term measures to revamp and
bolster the country’s power system. He said that Pakistan’s future lies in low-cost hydel power generation as the country possessed an identified potential of about 60,000 MW. He said that phased increase of hydropower into the national grid to the tune of 12,850 MW over a period of 5-7 years will not only make low cost energy available but also reduce dependence on the costly thermal source of power generation. He said that the federal government is exploring all available options including hydel, coal, solar and biomass to produce low-cost energy to meet the country’s development needs. Referring to the generous support by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, he thanked the Saudi Development Fund for providing additional US $ 100 million for Neelum
Jhelum Hydropower Project.
The consultants and the contractor also apprised the Minister of State for Water & Power of various issues relating to the project. The Minister directed Chairman WAPDA to resolve all issues in a week. He said that he himself would review progress on the project on monthly basis.
