Pakistan to generate 16,000MW of additional electricity by 2015: Khaleej Times

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has decided to generate 16,000MW of additional electricity by 2015, a new plan that requires needs $30 billion investment, said Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.


Addressing a news conference here yesterday after the inaugural function of Intergovernmental Conference on Central Asia – South Asia Regional Electricity Market, the minister said the government would invest $10 billion for the additional capacity and generate another $20 billion through the private sector by providing enabling environment. He said the load shedding would come to an end by end of next year.

He said the government organised a roundtable conference with international investors recently in Washington that was attended by 30 leading global players of coal-based power generating companies. The government would soon hold international competitive bidding to set up coal-fired power plants in the country, he said.

Responding to a question he dispelled the impression that the World Bank had declined to finance Bhasha dam and added the construction work on the project would be initiated next year.

The minister said the import of 1000MW electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistna under the Central Asia – South Asia (CASA 1000) project would promote regional energy trade and lead to greater regional cooperation in economic and energy fields.

Responding to a question about security situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the import of electricity from central Asia, the minister said the project was in the economic interest of the neighbouring country and hence its people would ensure the project to become a reality. He said the law and order problem in Afghanistan would not hamper implementation of the project.

He said the import of 1000MW power to Pakistan form Central Asian states through Afghanistan will be a great milestone for the economic development of the member countries. The four nations are expected to sign on Monday an intergovernmental council agreement for import of electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

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Pakistan plans USD 12.4 billion investment in power sector: Steel Guru

Daily Times reported that Pakistan is eying USD 12.4 billion investment in the power sector to generate 13,335MW power by 2016.

Sources said that Pakistan's government is encouraging the private sector to make investment in the power sector and is hoping that the private sector would invest USD 12.4 billion by 2016 on the 51 power projects that are under process by Private Power Infrastructure Board.

According to the power projects under process in PPIB, the focus is being laid on the hydel power generation and as many as 20 hydel power projects would be operational that would generate 4,478MW power by 2016. In the said sector, first project would start generating hydel power of 84MW in the year 2011 and three additional power projects would be added to hydel power generation that would generate 332MW by 2012.

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Pakistan to get $1.4bn WB loan, ADB to give $810m: Daily Times

* $1bn WB loan to have 17% interest
* ADB funds for power projects

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Programme (ADP) will give Pakistan $1.4 billion and $810 million in loans, respectively.

The WB's $1.4 billion lending programme will support development in various sectors during the current fiscal 2008-09 year, a senior official in the Economic Affairs Division told Daily Times on Wednesday. He said anonymously that the lending programme consisted of $1 billion loan under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $400 million loan under the International Development Association's (IDA) country assistance programme.

Interest: He said the $1 billion IBRD loan would be provided on market rate, elaborating that market rate loans had an interest rate of 17 percent. He added that the $400 million IDA loan would be a soft loan, which is likely to have one percent interest rate, and would be for technical assistance.

Sources in the Finance Ministry say Pakistan is facing problems to return WB loans as there is a condition that they will be returned in any currency (dollor or euro), which has a higher value.

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Work on most hydropower projects to start next year: The News

Friday, July 04, 2008
By our correspondent

LAHORE: The Water and Power Development Authority is striving for optimal exploitation of hydropower potential to cope with increasing demand of electricity in the country.

WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani stated this during a visit to project sites of Diamer-Basha dam, Dasu, Pattan and on-going three high-head hydropower projects namely Khan, Allai and Dubair Khwar on Thursday.

According to a statement issued here, the WAPDA chairman said nature had blessed Pakistan with the potential of generating more than 54,000 megawatts of hydel electricity.

With a view to injecting low-cost electricity into the national grid, WAPDA was working on feasibility studies and detailed engineering designs of a number of hydropower projects with accumulative capacity of about 25,000MW including Kohala (1,100MW), Bunji (5,400MW) and Dasu (4,000MW), he added.

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