ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar here on Wednesday chaired a meeting of senior officials of Ministry of Finance and Water and Power to review the current energy sector profile of the country.
The meeting focused on funding from development partners including World Bank, JICA and ADB for energy sector and emphasized efforts to expedite work on Diamer Bhasha hydro power project. There were also detailed deliberations on three LNG based power plants of 1200 MW each. The Minister sought update from the Ministry of Water and Power on measures to augment the north-south gas pipeline which he said is crucial for successful implementation of these projects.
The Minister on this occasion reiterated government’s resolve to bridge the demand-supply gap of electricity and said 10,000 plus megawatts would invariably be added to the national grid by December 2017. The Minister on this occasion also referred to his meeting with the German Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation and said he welcomed German cooperation in different realms, particularly renewable energy sector.
The minister added that US acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Jarrett Blanc also in his meeting the other day said that energy sector cooperation would be an important area for talks during planned visit of the Prime Minister to USA later this year. In that backdrop, Minister Dar emphasized preparation by Ministry of Water & Power for discussion on energy sector projects during the visit.
It may be recalled that the Minister last month had given instructions for regular coordination meetings of both ministries to keep track of power sector developments. The meetings are being held accordingly.
