Business Opportunities: Pakistan developing clean energy, says Olson

Says private sector investment in power generation crucial

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is committed to developing clean energy solutions and the US will help it in this initiative, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson said.

Addressing the US-Pakistan Clean Energy Business Opportunities Conference, he said that infrastructure development needs government funding, but it also requires private sector investment.

Public investment in energy infrastructure and power generation is essential, but private sector investment in this sector is crucial, “We are here to facilitate such investment,” Olson said. The more space the private sector has to contribute in the energy sector, the more quickly the energy crisis can be resolved, he said.

He said as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told President Obama in October, developing Pakistan’s energy sector is one of his government’s top priorities. He said Prime Minister Sharif’s attendance this week at the COP21 conference in Paris demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to doing its part in the global campaign to manage climate change.

A great example of public-private partnership in Pakistan’s renewables sector is the Sapphire Group’s investment in wind power.

The 50 megawatt Sapphire wind power plant project at Jhimpir was made possible by collaboration between the Pakistani government, private sector investors, OPIC and USAID, and American and multinational companies.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2015.