SWAT - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mehmood Khan has inaugurated the Dral Khawar hydro power station during his day long visit to Bahrain, Swat. The electricity produced by the Dral Khwar hydro power station has been linked to the national grid.

Federal Minister of State for Communication Murad Saeed, Adviser to Chief Minister on Energy, members of national and provincial assemblies Dr Haider Ali, Salim-ur-Rehman, Fazal Hakim Khan, Mian Sharafat Ali, Commissioner Malakand Syed Zaheerul-Islam, Secretary Energy, MD PEDO, Pakistani and Chinese officials also attended the ceremony.

Addressing the people gathered at the occasion and later talking to the media, the chief minister said his government had a comprehensive plan for tapping the perennial water resources, making water conservational strategy, constructing dams and efficient utilisation of water resources both for energy production and agriculture productivity in the province. Implementation has already been started, he said.

He cautioned against the scarcity of water in the country which he referred to the prediction of the future war on water. This region has no scarcity of surface water resources but the only thing needed is its storage and scientific utilisation for expeditious development, he added.

Mehmood Khan said that only Swat has the potential to produce thousands of megawatts of electricity. He further said that the provincial government was working on war footings on hydel power generation projects.  Some of the projects which are significant in nature include 84MW Mataltan hydro power project, 110MW Gabral Kalam hydro project. These projects on completion would provide cheap electricity to the backward areas of the region and loadshedding would become history, he added.

The chief minister said that PTI, after coming to power, planned the efficient use of water resources for electricity production in order to contribute to the process of overcoming energy crisis in the country. The projects initiated by government would provide a solid base for the future development and prosperity of the people and the province, he said. “Rest assured, this government would never let the people down,” he assured.

Mehmood Khan said that the scenic beauty of Swat, Malakand and Hazara have all the prerequisites to attract tourists. The local tourists, the overseas Pakistanis and foreign tourists would be attracted that would boost tourism, the chief minister said.

He said development is linked to the durable peace and national cohesion which is the vision of PTI at national level and we are working on these lines.  He reminded that Dral Khawar project was initiated out of the province’s own resources and was completed on time which had already started production.

He appreciated everyone who contributed to the accomplishment of this challenging task. He also appreciated the technical experts and others involved in other hydro power projects, oil and gas projects and other small and medium projects. He further assured that we would add more electricity generated through hydel power projects to the national grid soon.