News
Monday, July 12, 2010
Govt plans early completion of N-J hydropower project
* Water and power minister says govt will import equipment worth Rs 8 billion to expedite work on the project
By Zeeshan Javaid
ISLAMABAD: To complete the 969 megawatts (MW) Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, the federal government has decided to import state-of-the-art equipment worth Rs 8 billion.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf directed the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to expedite work on the Neelam-Jhelum project in order to complete it a year before the scheduled time.
The minister said in order to complete the project on fast track basis, modern equipment and tunnel boring machines worth Rs 8 billion had been imported. “Although the project will cost $2.16 billion, the government has sufficient funds to complete the project,” he added.
Ashraf said the government was following the energy mix policy and trying its best to exploit all resources to bridge the gap between electricity demand and supply.
“The government is paying attention to hydel projects in order to generate cheap electricity and overcome the energy crisis,” he said.
The minister dispelled the impression that the government was only focusing on thermal generation.
“The main target of the government is to produce cheap electricity by exploiting indigenous resources. Thermal generation is not a long-term solution to future power requirements,” Ashraf maintained.
He said the government had already provided funds for the completion of the project, adding that it was being financed by the Kuwait Fund, the Saudi Fund, the Islamic Development Bank and the Abu Dhabi Funds.
Ashraf said consumers were contributing 10 paisas per unit to the project, which constituted 50 percent of the financing for the project.
“We can say that the project is being completed with the contribution of the people of Pakistan,” he added.
The power minister said the current ratio of thermal power generation was more than hydel generation and the government had decided to enhance the share of hydel power and alternative energy sources to provide cheap electricity to the consumers.
He said the work on the Kohala Hydel Power Project of 1,100MW would also be started soon.
“Besides reducing dependence on thermal power, the Neelum-Jhelum project would help save foreign exchange, generate employment opportunities and improve the infrastructure and social-economic conditions of the area,” he said.
Neelum-Jhelum Hydel Power Project Director Syed Ali Raza told reporters that round-the-clock work was underway on the project.
He said the project was initiated in 2008 and would be completed in October 2015, instead of 2016.
Raza said 3,400 acres of land were required for the project, adding that the government had already acquired 3,200 acres for the purpose.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk