Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mahmood Khan has said that the provincial government understands the need for sustainable energy-production methods and all steps are being taken to transition to clean sources of energy.

He spoke of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) under which 7,400 schools, 5,672 Mosques, 134 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and 6,643 households in 100 villages across the province have been converted to clean energy. The total cost of these installations has been PKR9.134 billion.

In the merged tribal districts, he said, 895 mosques and 5 churches have also been solarized. He added that the provincial government has successfully completed the construction of 7 Hydropower projects (HPP) which are producing a total of 161 MW of energy and the revenues from these projects to the government are around PKR31.026 billion annually.

He was chairing a meeting on the progress review of the Energy & Power department when he made these statements. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of the Energy and Power Department, CEO of PEDO, Project Directors and other concerned officials.

The chief minister said that the provincial government is contributing significantly to meet the country’s energy demands. KPK is the only province which is producing clean energy at the cheapest possible rates thereby contributing crucially to national development.

The chief minister was briefed about the progress of the projects currently underway in solar and hydel sectors. He was told that Reshun, Shishi, Machai, Ranolia and 36.6 MW Daral Khwar HPPs have already been completed and the 10.2 MW Jabori HPP in District Manshera will be inaugurated in the going month.

Construction work on 11.8 MW Karora, 40.8 MW KOTO, 84 MW Matiltan and 69 MW Lawi HPPs is also underway at pace, which will be completed early next year.

He was also briefed about the progress on the 10.5 MW Chapri Charkhel and 6.5 MW Barandu HPPs. After completion these projects will generate a revenue of PKR9.015 billion, Mehmood Khan was told.

Mehmood Khan said that the provincial government is spending a lot of precious resources on the transition to clean sources of energy. It is therefore very important that these projects are completed in time to avoid incurring additional costs. These projects will give a boost to industrialization and development.

Mehmood Khan thanked the donor organizations which are funding the HPPs of 300 MW Balakot, 88 MW Gabral Kalam and 157 MW Madyan. He was told that the total cost of these projects will be PKR210.3 billion and they will generate an annual revenue of PKR28.66 billion, after completion.

As for the public private partnership and PSDP+ projects, Mehmood Khan was informed that initial work on 470 MW Spat Gah HPP in District Kohistan, 96 MW Batakundi HPP and 188 MW Naran dam has already been initiated, whereas 22 MW Patrak Shringal, 47 MW Barikot Patrak and 495 MW Kari Maskur HPPs have been proposed for PSDP 2022-23.

About solar power he was informed that 9 different solar projects have been completed with a cumulative capacity of 26 MW. These projects will save PKR422 million annually to provincial coffers. 8,000 more Mosques will be solarized by the year 2024, and for this purpose, three projects of 20.5 MW are underway which will save PKR500 million annually to the province.

In the Micro Hydel Sector, the Chief Minister was told that 16 mini-micro hydel projects have been completed with a cumulative capacity of 28 MW. These projects will provide cheap electricity to the local population. In Phase II of this program, 291 additional mini-micro hydel projects will be established with a total capacity of 47.5 MW.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk