KARACHI: Minister of Energy, Development and Planning Sindh Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Thursday met French Ambassador Nicolas Galey along with a delegation at the Energy Department office. Matters of mutual interest were discussed.
Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Energy Department Secretary briefed the delegation about various alternative energy projects on this occasion.
The minister said on this occasion that Sindh province is rich in natural sources of alternative energy and is very fertile for domestic and foreign investors in this sector. Thar coal is one of the largest reserves of the world. A test of Thar coal has been conducted by the world’s largest and most authoritative institute, according to the report.
Thar coal is of high quality and is also very suitable for gasification. Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC) is the first provincial grid company which is a PGC license holder with a mandate to develop 132KV power transmission infrastructure under the CEO STDC Saleem Sheikh is heading.
Similarly, Sindh Solar Energy Project, whose project director is Mahfouz Qazi, under the direction and vision of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, steps are being taken to provide free electricity to the people of Sindh. By building solar parks, cheap electricity is being provided to various industries of Sindh province through solarization.
Energy Minister Nasir Shah said that an estimated 2.1 million houses were destroyed in the last flood in Sindh province, while more than 8 million people were affected, for whose resettlement the Sindh government is taking all possible steps. He said that we are also grateful to the French government that they played their role in helping the flood victims.
French Ambassador Nicolas Galey praised the ongoing projects regarding alternative energy and appreciated the ongoing initiatives of the Sindh government, especially the Energy Department, on the instructions of Energy Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.
The delegation expressed interest in investing in waste-to-energy and particularly coal, solar and wind energy in Thar. The minister presented the traditional gift of Sindh, Ajrak and cap, to the French delegation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024