Power generation: We’ll replace darkness with light, says Nawaz

Two coal-based power plants inaugurated in Karachi.

KARACHI:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised on Tuesday that the present government is committed to addressing the issue of power shortage in the country and will encourage local and foreign investment in energy.

“We will eliminate darkness from this country and a day will come when every house will have electricity,” the PM said at the ground-breaking ceremony of two coal-based power plants, with a collective capacity of 1,320 MW, at Port Qasim. The PM said the project reflected the commitment of the government to address the country’s energy shortage.

The PM said his government had worked from its first day in office to address the energy crisis in order to improve socio-economic development in the country. “The severity of this crisis required constant work on power projects, so that we could replace the darkness with lights,” he remarked.

He said the ground-breaking of this power project at Port Qasim has a special significance, due to the importance of Karachi in Pakistan’s economy. He promised to raise power generation in the country to 21,000 MW. He said that since the production of electricity from coal-fired power plants was cheaper, ten coal-fired power projects with a capacity of 660 MW each are being initiated at Gadani in Balochistan, adding a total of 6,600 MW electricity to the national grid.

The PM said 950 MW of electricity would be available from the Neelum Jhelum power project next year. “It is our desire that we should have not only ample power at our disposal but also a cost-effective one so that a large populace can get relief,” he added. He also referred to other power projects such as a 1,320 MW project at Jamshoro as well as the planned power projects at Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal and Jhang.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2014.