KARACHI - Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said the provincial government is finally going to launch a 100MW power plant.

He said this while presiding over a meeting on Sindh Nooriabad Power Company (SNPC) and Sindh Transmission & Dispatch Company (ST&DC) here at Chief Minister’s House. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to CM Sohail Rajput, Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi, Energy Secretary Agha Wasif, Director of Sindh Nooriabad Power Company Khurshid Jamali, CEO of STDC Rehan Hashmi, GM of Tech Tariq Saeed, Project Director of SNPC Syed Arif Ali and Najmul Hassan.

The chief minister was told that the power plant had been tested and it was working properly and smoothly. The testing would continue for a few more days. Talking about the transmission line laid from Nooriabad to Karachi, he said that 99.9 percent of it was complete. Only two towers, one in Gadap and the other on motorway, are being installed, he said.

The chief minister said that people were criticising the Sindh government for launching ambitious projects, but “we did it for the people of Sindh and for people of Pakistan”.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said that some people used to say that SNPC and STDC were dormant companies and would fail to deliver. “Today not only SNPC has installed a 100MW power plant, STDC has laid a transmission line for it,” he said and added “both companies have produced results for the government and for the people of Sindh and Pakistan.” He thanked the leadership of his party for supporting him and entrusting him power projects. The chief minister said the solution to the national energy crisis lies in Sindh. “Sindh can make entire Pakistan self-sufficient in energy sector if the federal government extends its full support,” he said.

The chief minister congratulated his team for success and directed them to make necessary arrangements for organising a launch ceremony before start of the holy month of Ramazan.

Separately, the chief minister said there were enormous investment opportunities in different sectors in the province. “The government has created an investment-friendly environment by providing necessary facilities to businessmen,” he said.  He said this while talking to Rick Davis, chief of PEGASUS, a New York-based capital investment firm, who called on him here at Chief Minister’s House on Friday. At the meeting, Davis discussed investment opportunities in Sindh with the chief minister and showed his interest in infrastructure and and energy sectors.

Davis said that he was also participating in philanthropic activities, particularly in health sector. He said that American pharmaceutical companies had introduced a new anti-diarrheal medicine in the market. He said that medicines worth $2.5 million will be distributed to Sindh for which the chief minister appreciated him.