‘KP govt hurdle in energy projects’

Abid Sher says controversy over WB-funded Dasu Dam

project resolved, work to begin soon

MULTAN: State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is creating hurdles in the way of energy projects.

Addressing a press conference at the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) Headquarters here on Monday, he said that KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had no interest in ending loadshedding.

He said that the federal government was interested in purchasing a piece of land in Pervez Khattak’s hometown of Nowshera but the matter was pending on his side due to his hectic engagements in the Dharna politics. He said: “The energy projects in the KP have been paralysed mainly because of ineligible government in the province.”

State Minister Abid Sher Ali said that the government had finally decided to start work on Diamer-Bhasha Dam as compared to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and former PMs Raja Pervez Ashraf and Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, who inaugurated the project respectively only for political point scoring.

The federal government had purchased land for Diamer-Bhasha Dam and the development work would be completed under the PSDP, he added.

The state minister said that a controversy over the World Bank-funded Dasu Dam project had been resolved and work on it would begin soon. He said that the government was spending Rs 10 billion on upgrading the transmission system and it would be completed till next May-June.

Not a single penny had been invested in upgrading the transmission system during the last two decades, he added. He said that a sum of Rs 2.6 billion was being spent on village electrification in the Mepco region to provide electricity to each household in rural areas.

The state minister criticised Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan and said that he had failed in furnishing solid evidences in the Panama Leaks case.

He said that Imran Khan was a coward politician as he did not stand in ordeal with his workers and camouflaged himself at Bani Gala. He said that the Multan powerlooms had been declared loadshedding-free as compared to the last year when they were facing five hours loadshedding.

He said that 365 feeders in the region were facing zero loadshedding as compared to the last year when the urban areas were facing 6-8 hours loadshedding and rural areas 8-10 hours loadshedding. Mepco Chief Executive Officer Salahuddin, Multan Superintendent Akram Chaudhry and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.