LAHORE: The Punjab government is going to start 2,320 megawatt energy projects in South Punjab as it has signed different agreements with Chinese and Danish companies.
Under the agreement inked between the Punjab government and Denmark, Danish wind power generation international company VESTAS will set up four wind power plants of 250 mw each at Rajanpur in South Punjab whereas under the second agreement, renowned Chinese Company Hauneng Shandong will set up two coal power plants of 660 mw each at Rahimyar Khan.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who was the chief guest at the event, gave Letter of Intent to Vice President of VESTAS Gerard Carew to set up four wind power plants with total cost of $2 billion which will be done as investment.
Talking to the media men on the occasion, Shahbaz Sharif said that last year it was announced that there are vast opportunities of generating energy in South Punjab and sites have been identified where plants of generating electricity through wind can be set up.
He said that former Danish Ambassador in Pakistan Jesper Moller Sorensen has extended cooperation for identifying wind corridor. He said that four units of 250 mw each will be set up in South Punjab and in the first phase 250 mw unit will be completed in 2018.
The CM said work is being carried out round the clock for overcoming energy crisis. He said that work is also continuing on a number of energy projects in Sindh. KPK, Balochistan, Punjab and Azad Kashmir and darkness will be removed from Pakistan after completion of these projects.
Sahrif requested investors of the country to come forward and put money in energy projects and he will extend full cooperation to them as a “Khadim”. “Punjab government and energy institutions will provide all possible facilities”, he added. He said that neither a single penny will have to be given as a bribe nor time will be wasted.
He said it was an opinion that there are no prospects of generating energy through wind in Punjab but VESTAS has identified wind corridors in Punjab and now investors should come forward. The Chief Minister said that work is continuing on 1320 megawatt coal power plant in Sahiwal. He said that the work was started on this project six and a half months ago and 50.8 percent construction work has been completed so far. He said that normally such projects are completed in 5 years.
