Electricity generation: Power minister inspects Neelum Jhelum project

WAPDA directed to ensure power generation from project by 2015.

LAHORE: Minister of State for Water and Power, Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali, has directed the Water and Power Regulatory Authority (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.

He asked Wapda to expedite construction work on the project, adding that meeting set deadlines by the concerned organisations is a key to overcoming the challenge of power outages in the country.

The minister expressed these views during his two-day visit to the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project located in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He was accompanied by delegations from the Saudi Development Fund and the Islamic Development Bank during the visit.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister 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 the energy deficit.

The minister said that a phased increase of hydropower into the national grid to the tune of 12,850 megawatts (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.

The minister also thanked the Saudi Development Fund for providing an additional $100 million for the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project.

Earlier, Chairman Wapda Syed Raghib Abbas Shah, during a briefing apprised the minister about the progress on the project. He said that work on all sites is progressing and overall progress on the project stands at 51%. Out of the total 67 kilometres of tunnels, about 40 kilometres has so far been excavated, while excavation of the underground power house stands at 90.6%, while the transformers hall has been completed, he added.

The chairman said that on completion, the power project will contribute 5.15 billion units of electricity to the national grid every year, adding that annual benefits to be accrued from the project have been estimated at about Rs45 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2013.

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