ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Friday said that the federal government would fully support the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and provide them loan in execution of hydel power projects there.
He was responding to a point of order of Mahmood Khan Achakzai regarding high potential of hydel projects in the KPK and the federal government should support it on this issue of national interest as power was the biggest issue of Pakistan.
Achakzai said that the KPK government should utilize Rs 70 billion of hydel profit on execution of hedel power projects on River Swat as thousands of MW electricity could only be generated from this one river. He also requested the Finance Minister to assist the KPK government in execution of these projects.
The minister said the province was independent in execution of projects but seconded Achakzai’s proposal and asked the provincial government to bring proposals in this regard and the federal government would fully support them.
He said all old pending issues of net hydel profit, power generation and Pahoor canal between the federal government and KPK had been resolved amicably.
The minister said that under the mutually agreed MoU, the KPK government would now get Rs 70 billion net hydel profit in next four years.
He said under the agreement the KPK government would get 100MMFT gas for power generation in the province.
He said that this amount of gas could be used through the KPK government itself or through its Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
Finance Minister said that under the agreement it had also been agreed that PC-1 of Chashma Right Bank Canal would also be revised and it would be taken up in Central Working Development Party (CDWP). The federal government would provide 65 percent share while the provincial government would bear 35 percent cost of the project.
This project would irrigate 0.3 million acres of land in KPK and benefit a large number of people in the area, he added.
The Finance Minister said the credit for resolving these outstanding issues went both to the federal and provincial governments.
He further said that pending issues of KPK workers welfare fund and relevant federal secretaries would be resolved.
The Minister stressed the need for construction of more dams in the country as all the provinces did not use their right and the water down in the sea.
Parliamentary Secretary Sardar Shafqat Baloch, on a calling attention notice, informed the House that 3rd quarter of Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) would be released by the Ministry of Finance today.
Source: APP
