Policy priority: Efforts on to end loadshedding, says Shahbaz

Danish company to produce 1,000MW through wind power

LAHORE:

The government is taking all steps it can to end loadshedding from the country, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday.

He was talking to several Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz officer-bearers.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, unprecedented efforts are being made for overcoming the energy crisis. Powerhouses are being set up expeditiously for resolving the energy crisis. Thousands of megawatts of electricity will be added to national grid with the completion of these energy projects by 2017. This will substantially reduce loadshedding,” he said.

The chief minister said that previous governments and their failed policies were responsible for creating the present electricity shortage. “Had government leaders in the past made similar serious efforts to overcome energy shortage, the country would not be facing the problem now. The energy sector was badly neglected during the dictatorship era. Hurdles were created to the implementation of development projects through useless sit-ins,” he said.

The chief minister said that the PML-N government was working on coal, wind, solar, gas, hydel and other low-cost ways of power generation. “Gas-based powerhouses of 3,600 megawatts capacity are being set up in the province. These plants are being established at half the cost paid for similar ones in the past. They will result in the availability of cheap electricity to the masses,” the CM said.

He said he hoped that the Sahiwal coal power plant would be completed before its stipulated completion date. “The Chinese company working on the project has given us assurances in this regard. A total of 1,320 megawatts of electricity will be produced by the project. The government has signed an agreement with a Danish company, Vestas, for the generation of 1,000 megawatts of electricity using wind power,” he said.

He said that the agreement signed with Qatar for the purchase of LNG would result in the availability of low-cost gas to citizens.

Better services

The chief minister chaired a meeting on Sunday to review the provision of civic services. “All government departments have to work proactively for providing better civic services to the people. Problems of the people should immediately be resolved in government departments,” he said.

“It is necessary to evolve an effective strategy for this purpose and ensure its implementation. It is essential to adopt an effective approach for providing better services to the masses,” the CM said.

He said that more efforts were needed for the provision of better facilities in education, health and other social sectors. Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary and the Planning and Development Board chairman attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th,  2016.