Development: ‘Effective resource utilisation can lead to progress’

The government has added 1700MW to the national grid, says federal minister Ahsan Iqbal.

LAHORE:

“Engineers shape ideas...a country cannot progress without them,” Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday.

Addressing the Pakistan Engineering Congress’s annual session, Iqbal said the country faced many problems because of a lack of technology professionals.

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had developed a roadmap in 1998 to make the energy sector capable of producing 28,000MW.

“By 2025, Pakistan’s population would reach 230 million... the country will face many crises if resources are not properly utilised,” he said.

Iqbal said an independent media was an asset for the country.
“In addition to highlighting the government’s weaknesses, the media should also project positive developments to give people hope.”



“We have to get rid of elements causing unrest in the country...even Iran is trying to resolve all its problems through dialogue with America,” he said.

Iqbal said the United Nations resolution on drone attacks was a moral victory for Pakistan, adding that “it is time to move ahead wisely.”

He said that in the first quarter of 2013, the economic growth rate had risen from 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

“Pakistan got the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status which is a big achievement.”

The minister said the infrastructure and energy sectors had been neglected in the last 14 years.

He said the present government had added 1700MW to the national grid and initiated a campaign against power theft and defaulters.

The federal minister for Planning, Development and Reforms said consensus building was necessary before going ahead with the Kalabagh Dam project.  The minister said the projected cost of the new airport in Islamabad was Rs100 billion.

“No one knows how water will be provided to the airport... such mismanagement can hinder the progress of the country,” he said.

Engineer Shamsul Mulk and Pakistan Engineering Congress President Riaz Ahmad Khan also spoke on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2013.