Review report on Neelum-Jhelum shall be provided within 15 days: PM
Neelum-Jhelum was a sick project requiring due attention
Dunya News Report (Jibran Dost)
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the Federal Secretary for Water and Power Younas Dagha to submit the review report on the position of the Neelum-Jhelum hydel power project to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) within 15 days.
“Our efforts in the shape of power projects in diverse sources of energy reflect our determination to overcome the issue of power shortage in Pakistan,” said the Prime Minister.
“Neelum-Jhelum was a sick project requiring due attention when we assumed the responsibility to govern this country. The project was facing huge liability amounting to Rs 20 billion with no plans for the transmission lines to evacuate power after completion of the project. We will complete Neelum-Jhelum and many other energy related projects during our term in office to rid the country out of darkness,” the PM added.
The decision taken to complete the project on a fast-track basis was considered at a high level meeting that took place at the PM office on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by Senator Ishaq Dar, Fawad Hasan Fawad, SAPM, Mohammad Younis Dagha and other senior government officials.
Similarly, spokesperson for Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) last month stated that the left tunnel headrace tunnel of the 969 Mega Watt (MW) Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power (NJHP) project has successfully been connected under River Jhelum, whereas the right headrace tunnel had already been connected under the river in the first week of January 2016.
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Zafar Mahmood, while addressing the ceremony organised by NJHP authorities in order to celebrate the completion of the left headrace tunnel, expressed that WAPDA is certain that the first generating unit of the project would be operational by mid 2017 and the rest three units by December 2017.
“Financial constraints of the project are over now. Financing is no more an issue. All arrangements are now in place,” said Chairman WAPDA Zafar Mahmood at the completion ceremony of the two headrace tunnels.
In addition, the chairman while speaking on the occasion valued the commitment of the project authorities and the contractor. While talking to the media, Zafar Mahmood stated that as of today, 78 per cent work on the NJHP project was completed.
Member from the Finance department of the NJHP project expressed that Rs. 250 billion have so far been spent on the project.
Pakistan needs around 15,000 to 20,000 MW electricity per day, however, currently it is able to produce only 11,500 MW per day hence there is a shortfall of about 4000 to 9000 MW per day.
For years, the matter of balancing Pakistan’s supply against the demand for electricity has remained a largely unresolved matter. The country faces big challenges in altering its networks that are responsible for the supply of electricity. Electricity generation in Pakistan has shrunk by up to 50% in the recent years, primarily because Pakistan’s energy infrastructure is not well developed; rather, it is considered to be under- developed and poorly managed.
