PM seeks review report in 15 days

Neelum-Jhelum project

Establishes committee to empower women

By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir & Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed Federal Secretary Water and Power Younas Dagha to submit a review report on the status of the Neelum-Jhelum hydel power project to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) within 15 days.

The decision to complete the project on a fast-track basis was taken at a high-level meeting at the PM House on Wednesday. The prime minister was given a detailed briefing on various aspects of the project on the occasion. The prime minister directed all those related to the project management of Neelum-Jhelum to shift to the site of the project for ensuring effective supervision and speedy work on the project.

The prime minister said achieving economic stability was directly connected with uninterrupted power supply to the industrial sector of the country, for which timely completion of energy projects was necessary. “Our efforts in the shape of power projects in diverse sources of energy reflect our determination to overcome the issue of power shortages in Pakistan,” said the prime minister.

“Neelum-Jhelum was a sickproject requiring due attention when we assumed the responsibility to govern the country. The project was facing a huge liability of Rs20 billion with no plans for the transmission lines to evacuate power after completion of the project,” Nawaz said.

“We will complete Neelum-Jhelum and many other energy related projects during our term in office to rid the country of darkness,” reiterated the prime minister.

The meeting was also attended by Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Finance, Fawad Hasan Fawad, SAPM,

Muhammad Younas Dagha, Secretary Water and Power, and other senior government officials.

Officials during the meeting told Nawaz Sharif that the financial closure of the Rs404.321 billion Neelum-Jhelum project will be achieved within days and Wapda has given the mandate to the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to arrange financing of Rs100 billion while the China EXIM bank will provide $576 million.

The China EXIM bank and consortium of local banks headed by the NBP had earlier linked their credit lines for the project to the approval of a revised PC-1 of the project by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec).

Wapda Chairman Zafar Mehmood, who was not a part of the meeting, told The News the country is about to reap the dividends because of the personal intervention of the prime minister as Rs100 billion financing will be arranged by local banks’ consortium headed by the NBP next week and there is no hurdle left in releasing $576 million by the China EXIM bank. The premier has been informed that excavation at the site of power house has been executed by 100 percent.

The earlier governments have failed to arrange the financial closure of this project of national importance owing to which this project kept on facing delays. Now with the personal intervention of Nawaz Sharif, the important milestone of the financial year is about to be achieved as Ecnec has already approved the revised PC-1 of the project, a senior official privy to the development told The News.

The financial closure of $1.576 billion will ensure smooth financial supplies to the project owing to which the first turbine of the project will start generating 250MW electricity by June 2017.

Meanwhile, the first-ever National Women Empowerment Policy would be choreographed early next week and it would be submitted to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday (March 5) so that it could be made public on the International Women’s Day.

The prime minister has constituted an 11-member committee under Federal Minister Zahid Hamid to formulate the draft and its maiden meeting has been convened by its convener today (Thursday) in the Cabinet Division’s Committee Room.

Highly-placed sources told The News here on Wednesday that Nawaz Sharif has made up his mind to accord maximum facilities and authority to women in national affairs. It would enhance Pakistan’s image as a moderate country. Zahid Hamid, who has been appointed as convener, is clueless about the assignment and has asked for the record and past briefings on the subject for his committee’s maiden meeting. The sources said that if any legislation would be required for the policy, it would be placed before the ongoing sitting of the Senate.

“It would be premature to make an assessment that any legislation would be involved in the policy,” the sources maintained.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office has stated that the prime minister has been pleased to constitute a committee to formulate the National Women Empowerment Policy 2016, proposed to be launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March, 2016. The committee shall comprise Zahid Hamid, Minister for Climate Change (Convener), Saira Afzal Tarar, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Anusha Rehman, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecom, Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed, SAPM, Ashtar Ausaf, SAPM on Law, Dr Shezra Mansab Ali, MNA, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, MNA, Senator Ayesha Raza Frooq, Iram Bukhari, former secretary Women Development, Government of Punjab, Dr Ijaz Munir, Additional Secretary to the PM, PMO (Members) and Secretary, Cabinet Division (Member/Secretary). The prime minister has desired that final recommendations of the committee shall be submitted to him for his approval by March 5, 2016, positively.