News
Monday, July 19, 2010
CCI approves construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam* Prime minister says Council of Common Interests needs to play more effective, visible role to resolve national issues
ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interests (CCI), which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday, unanimously passed a resolution approving the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
The resolution reflects national consensus, said the PM, and would send a positive signal for the future progress and prosperity of the country.
The CCI was apprised that the Diamer-Bhasha Dam on completion in 2019 would have a water storage capacity of 6.4 MAF and would produce 4,500 megawatts of electricity.
It was also mentioned that the dam would pay back its cost within eight years after its completion.
Better role: The PM said the forum of the CCI needed to play a more effective and visible role to resolve issues between federal and provincial governments through mutual consultation and discussion.
Concluding the meeting, Gilani gave special directions to the Ministry of Water & Power to develop a scheme for development of infrastructure to support the early completion of the Thar Coal Project.
The PM directed that the Ministry of Railways give detailed briefing on making railways a viable entity and also asked the Statistics Division for briefing on the Population Census in the next meeting of the CCI.
The CCI, which met for the first time after the passage of the 18th Amendment took up five agenda items and passed the rules and procedures for the newly constituted CCI.
The CCI was given a detailed briefing by Raza Rabbani, the chairman of Implementation Commission, on the stage of implementation of the 18th Amendment and the work so far undertaken by the commission. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk