Former Director Operations of World Bank Ziad Alahadad has said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the largest consolidated programme of energy investment in Pakistan but there is a need of capacity building and good governance to achieve the objective.
He expressed these views on Thursday while addressing a seminar 'Revitalising Pakistan's Energy Sector and the Crucial Role of CPEC' organised by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO). He said that there is need of economic reforms, comprehensive policy and good governance to implement the energy projects to overcome its shortage in the country. He said that the government should also focus on balanced energy by including the projects of solar, wind and hydel.
He said that there is also need of capacity building at three levels, including individual level training, institutional level training and policymaker level training. He said that Pakistan stands at a critical juncture with the advent of the CPEC. He said that the energy component of CPEC represents the largest investment in the history of the country's energy sector but it depends on the country's ability to address its persistent economic problems. "If managed correctly, it could help turn the country around. If not, it could be a liability of immense proportions. With the limited options the country has, this is an opportunity which it cannot afford to squander, he said.
He said that Pakistan's energy sector is in a state of crisis which is the most serious impediment to development. He said that policy initiatives in the energy sector as well as the overall economy have been repeatedly thwarted by special interests, lack of a long-term vision, missed opportunities, and weak implementation performance. He said that this has been compounded by a fragmented institutional structure, governance issues and security concerns, real or perceived.
He said that a key prerequisite to solving Pakistan's energy problems and securing the success of CPEC lies in adopting an integrated approach to energy policymaking and planning (IEP). "The World Bank's most recent global energy strategy accords top priority to IEP for energy reform for the entire developing world, signalling a significant, much-awaited shift in the Bank's policy emphasis, he said.
He said that energy policy decisions are increasingly driven by vested interests, impeded by bureaucratic inertia. He said that Pakistan's policymakers have been remarkably adept in articulating the overall objectives for energy policy within a national development context. "The problem is not what the objectives are but how they can be achieved. Overwhelming evidence from energy analysts points to the absence of integrated policy formulation as a fundamental issue," he said.
The former director operations WB said that in a high-deficit situation with significant energy reserves and vast areas deprived of commercial energy access, there is a temptation to develop all forms of available energy. The IEP facilitates balanced, inclusive, environmentally sensitive development through optimal resource allocation, he said. A key element in IEP, perhaps the most difficult and therefore requiring strong political will, is to reverse the unchecked fragmentation of policy institutions and consolidate these into a single ministry of energy, he said.
He said that the CPEC provides a strong implementation base, bearing in mind that China has always been a firm adherent of the principles of IEP. According to press released issued by SPO, Alahadad said that CPEC is the largest consolidated programme of energy investment in Pakistan that focuses primarily on indigenous energy sources along with introducing solar and wind power at a scale never undertaken before in Pakistan.
In his keynote address, Zia Alhadad described the issues faced by the country including growing energy deficit despite a substantial energy resource base, spiralling circular debt, exclusion of non-commercial energy in economic plans, absence of an integrated forestry and fuel wood policy, institutional weaknesses within sub-sectors and fragmented policy level institutional structure, inadequate provision for pro-poor and environmentally friendly energy policy, and legacy of lost opportunities. He said that in order to solve these issues, there is a dire need to build capacity and improve governance.
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