Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President, Mian Iqbal Hassan has urged upon the private sector to utilize alternate resources of power generation in order to cut dependence on costly thermal means. Mian Iqbal said here on Sunday that economic growth and cost of doing business has a direct relation.
"It is a good omen that the govt is working on various projects of alternate energy resources, but there is a dire need to complete these projects on war footing basis as industrial sector needs cheap and sufficient electricity," he said.
The MCCI Chief said that cheap and sufficient energy is a must for the growth of manufacturing sector and increase in industrial production, otherwise, the country would become just a trading place instead of industrial hub. He said as per estimates of experts, Pakistan can produce over 100,000MW electricity through solar, wind, and coal means but these resources are being wasted. Further, bio energy is an adaptable source that can be used to overcome electricity shortage besides making a considerable contribution to climate change phenomenon. Biomass energy has potential to convert a wide variety of wastes into clean energy besides being substitution for diminishing global oil supplies, he said.
He said vast biomass resources, particularly woody biomass and organic waste are available in Pakistan and serious efforts are required to establish necessary modalities to commercialize it at a vast scale.
He demanded of the government to release funds for Thar Coal Project at the earliest as huge coal reserves in Thar can help country to get rid of the energy crisis.