ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said that the power projects would continue to work even after overcoming energy crisis in 2018, adding that negligence in their completion would not be tolerated.
While presiding over a meeting at the PM House in Islamabad to review progress on the ongoing power projects and their timely completion, the prime minster said that getting rid of power shortages was essential for realizing the huge economic potential of the country.
The prime minister said that the government was not only striving to overcome loadshedding but also making efforts to provide affluent electricity to people. He said that the long-term plans of the government included production of more than 30, 000 MWs of electricity by 2022.
Nawaz Sharif said that increased power generation would substantially contribute towards economic growth and increased industrial activities. He said that he was personally monitoring the progress on the ongoing power projects across the country to ensure timely completion of these projects.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Water and Power briefed the prime minister on various hydel, coal, solar and liquefied natural gas (LNG) power projects.
The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the capacity and timeline for completion of various ongoing power projects in Pakistan. The meeting was informed that around 10, 996 MW of power would be added to the national grid by March 2018 against an expected generation shortfall of 7,000 to 8,000 MW, estimated for 2017-18.
The meeting was also briefed that work on improving the transmission system was going on in all parts of the country.
Earlier in the day, the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman held a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad and discussed matters pertaining to professional issues of Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
