PESHAWAR - Secretary Energy and Power, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nisar Ahmad Khan has said that foreign investment will play a major role in the development of the energy sector in the province.
He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rich in the natural resources of hydropower, which is a valuable asset. The utilization of the hydropower resources will not only pull the country out of the current energy crisis but will also earn billions of rupees annually for the province. He expressed these views in a meeting with a delegation of foreign investors lead by Ahn Ho Young, the representative of Korean engineering and construction company LOTTE, regarding progress on 496MW Spat Gah Power Project Kohistan here on Monday.
The power project is being constructed with the cooperation of KHNP, a govt-owned company of South Korea and the govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Chief Executive Officer, Provincial Energy Development Orgnaization (PEDO) Engineer Naeem Khan and the Manager of the Korean company, Muhammad Sulman, were also present. While giving a briefing, it was said that under the Public Private Partnership, 496 megawatts Spat Gah hydropower project is being constructed with the cooperation of the Korean company and the govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province will earn about 3 billion rupees when the project is completed in 5 years. It will be the largest hydropower project in the recent history of the province. During the meeting, the problems faced with PPIB including IGCEP Plan and NTDC at the federal level were discussed.
Similarly, various options were also discussed to erase the obstacles in issuing generation licenses for the project and other issues with the federal government. It was proposed to bring the issues to the highest forums in order to sort it out once and for all. On this occasion, Secretary Energy Nisar Ahmad Khan and Chief Executive PEDO Engineer Naeem Khan assured the Korean investors’ delegation that they would do their best to bring out the problem by highlighting the problems facing the province for the development of the province at high-level forums