Atlas Rental Power Plant inaugurated: NFC award to be announced soon, says Gilani

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said, in short term the government was focusing to meet the immediate power requirements of the country, but medium and long term power planning included the development of indigenous resources, including vast hydropower resources and exploiting the enormous deposits of coal besides using all other available options for creating an optimum fuel mix.
He said, ''the government firmly believed that private sector would be the engine of future growth in the power sector of Pakistan adding, for this we will continue to avail all the alternatives for investment in this sector, which includes Public, Private, and Public-Private Partnership.'' He said, the local as well as global companies are being provided conducive environment for encouraging investment in the power sector.
He said, ''the primary focus of the government has always been to work for the betterment of the people. We are blessed with immense natural resources, capable of providing Pakistan a sound economic footing and a prominent place in the global economy. What we need is to properly exploit them to their fullest potential,'' he added.
About the possibility of a raise in power tariff following the installation of new Rental Power Plants (RPPs), the prime minister said, ''Power tariff is not going to be enhanced as these plants are being set up after thorough study and government is committed to providing electricity to people at the lowest possible rates.''
When asked as to why the government had opted for RPPs, the premier said that the steps have to be taken to deal with an issue keeping in view all aspects. He said that the country was facing severe power shortage and RPPs were the best option to bridge the supply-demand gap in the shortest possible time to provide relief to the masses from loadshedding.
Referring to the challenges facing the country, he said, ''we graciously accept, and will leave no stone unturned for the development of the economy. However, we believe that there are certain pre-requisites for economic development. Primarily, a peaceful political and security environment is a must, which affords the government an opportunity to concentrate on efficient economic management, while providing the people an opportunity to engage in productive economic pursuits.''
Giving his comments on the National Finance Commission (NFC), Prime Minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, said that the National Finance Commission (NFC) has been reconstituted and the award would be announced soon.
To a question about Swat, he said that the government writ had been restored in most of the areas, while there were problems at a few places, which would also be sorted out by the army soon, adding ''army would remain there till restoration of complete peace.'' The premier referred to the challenges of terrorism, Indian threats following Mumbai incident and power shortage and said that the government has been taking effective and prudent steps to deal with these and various other issues.
He further said that the government had overcome the flour crisis and would also overcome the problem of the hike in sugar prices. When asked about PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif''s demand for a trial of Pervez Musharraf, he said, steps in this regard would be taken as per law.
The prime minister said that despite the external factors and the internal unrest being attempted by militants and terrorists, the government was committed to maintaining a stable political environment. He said, ''Our government is pursuing a policy of reconciliation and harmony by taking all political forces on board for ensuring a better political atmosphere in the country.''
In this age of globalisation, no country can hope to prosper in isolation and, ''That is why we are incorporating our trade and economic interests in our foreign policy,'' he added. ''Negative forces never miss an opportunity to mar the image of Pakistan in the eyes of the world, but we are very optimistic that we will succeed in creating the right perception about Pakistan, and in inviting foreign investors, with confidence, to come and invest here, he added.
He said, they have always believed that the government''s economic management should be restricted to designing and facilitating implementation of such policies, which catalyse economic ventures by the private sector, rather than directly taking upon themselves the responsibility of running business.
Gilani said, ''they believe in private sector resource mobilisation, as it is evident from the power policies introduced by our government during previous tenures.''
He said, the government was fully aware that the mere opening up of the economy was not sufficient for attracting foreign investors, as a policy framework supported by the institutional arrangements was also necessary. In addition, we are to transform the investment culture, both at the public and private level making it truly investor-friendly.''
The prime minister congratulating Atlas group on launching of the 225 MW Atlas Power Plant, invited them to further invest in Pakistan. He said, ''The marvellous track record of Atlas Group in different business endeavours in Pakistan, participation of German Companies in Atlas Power, and other multinational companies in various IPP projects is enough proof that international investors are not shy of investing in Pakistan, and are showing their renewed trust in our policies.''
The Atlas Power Plant is the first power plant of Pakistani Atlas group built by MAN German as a turnkey diesel power plant with combined heat and power systems. Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf, and Chairman Atlas Group Yusuf H Shirazi also spoke on the occasion.