Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issues LOIs to EnerTech for green hydrogen projects

In a quest to promote new avenues of renewable energy and alternative fuels sources, and achieve sustainable urban growth in the province, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (GoKP) on Tuesday issued three letters of intent (LOIs) to EnerTech Holding during a ceremony held at the CM Office.

EnerTech Holding signed multiple MOUs with the GoKP at Dubai Expo 2020 including the development and implementation of green hydrogen, urban development, food processing, and integrated tourism zones (ITZs). The ceremony was held to issue LOIs on green hydrogen and urban development projects.

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EnerTech is a fully-owned subsidiary of the National Technology and Enterprise Company (NTEC), which, in turn, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the oldest sovereign wealth fund in the world, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). The company is currently leading the development of green hydrogen globally. As part of a consortium of companies partnering with the state of Oman, EnerTech is developing the world’s largest (25GW) green hydrogen project — worth $30 billion.

The event was graced by Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mehmood Khan; Minister of Finance for KP, Taimur Khan Jhagra; Additional Chief Secretary P&DD-KP, Shahab Ali Shah; CEO KPBOIT, Hassan Daud Butt; CEO EnerTech Holding, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, representatives of UK-AID funded Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) program and investment advisory firm Bridge Factor (BF).

While addressing the signing ceremony, CM KP, Mehmood Khan, remarked, “This will go a long way towards ushering in new frontiers of cutting edge technologies in renewable energy and marks a new dawn of sustainable urban development in KP as envisaged by the government,” he further added, “These investments will promote development and generate employment in the province.”

In KP, the Kuwaiti company plans to establish two green hydrogen projects on run-of-the-river hydel plants of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia. The proposed project sites include Matiltan hydropower project of 84 MW in Chitral and Lawi hydropower project of 69 MW in Swat.

Taimur Khan, Minister of Finance for KP, expressed his views stating: “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa presents enormous investment potential which, if exploited in a systematic, planned, and transparent manner, can unleasha series of investments in the province.”

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The company also plans to build a sustainable, inclusive, environment-friendly city in KP by taking into account a range of aspects relevant to well-being, including affordability, and environmental and economic impacts.

Additional Chief SecretaryPlanning & Development, KP, Shahab Ali Shah, observed, “The Planning and Development Department has been formulating and contributing to the policy level inputs for provincial and sectoral development policies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for a long time which has resulted in leveraging private investment in the province.”

SEED and BF provided technical support to P&DD, GoKP since inception which culminated in the signing of LOIs. The Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) program is funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).

On this occasion, Omar Mukhtar, Team Lead – SEED, stated, “SEED aims to support KP’s key economic sectors and their respective departments to facilitate the generation of higher private investment by removing policy bottlenecks and addressing institutional weaknesses to leverage private-sector and multilateral investments.”

Given the challenges of climate change, skyrocketing prices of conventional fuels, sustainable urban development, and food security, these investments signify a fundamental transition for KP and open the door to a new age of development and prosperity in the province.