Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that the new government is fully committed to provide basic facilities, including electricity, to the consumers and will remove all bottlenecks to facilitate the foreign investors to invest in the power sector in Pakistan as there are great opportunities in this sector.
He said that Pakistan was facing great challenges, especially in power sector, as the shortage of energy had badly affected the country's economy. He made these observations while talking to a Four-Member Chinese delegation, headed by Chairman of Dongfang Electric Company (DEC) Si Zefu, who called him here on Tuesday.
The Secretary and Advisor to Ministry of Water and Power, Managing Director of Pakistan Electric Power Corporation (Pepco) and other senior officers of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) were also present in the meeting. The Minister welcomed the delegation and informed it about the current energy crisis faced by Pakistan.
He invited the Chinese firm to participate in power sector, and requested the company to complete the projects, contracted by the DEC in Pakistan well in time. The Minister said: "We recognise the professional experience of the company," and expressed the hope that his Ministry would be benefited by its expertise. "We have close and brotherly relation with our neighbouring country, China, since decades and have full confidence on its hard working and credible companies."
He said that Pakistan expected that the Chinese government would extend its support and assistance, enabling Pakistan to overcome the power crisis, he added. The Chairman of the company stated that the company was well aware of the power situation in Pakistan, and assured that it would complete the project as per schedule. He also evinced keen interest in taking part in various other projects in Pakistan in future.
Dongfang Electric Corporation is a China's state-owned company, specialising in power equipment manufacturing. The DEC has already completed the hydropower plant at Ghazi Barotha project, which is delivering 1450 MW.
The Chinese are currently working on five other power projects of 869 MW. The Minister appreciated the efforts of the company and thanked them for extending their support in this respect.-PR
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