Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that Pakistan would become regional power within a few years. "No one can stop us from becoming Asian tiger," he said addressing the inaugural ceremony of the first Unit of Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in Sahiwal. The Prime Minister further said that 10,000 megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid by 2018 and that would help overcome the power load-shedding in the country.
"Today there is no load-shedding of electricity or gas for the industries and there will be no power outage in the country after 2018," he said, adding that major objective of his government was to bring the power tariff down and make the electricity affordable for all.
He said the government has made enormous progress on the three major problems it inherited in 2013: power shortage, terrorism and economic issues. He said that his government''s efforts were bearing fruits because it had made enormous progress on all three fronts. He said that the economy has also begun doing well since the growth rate of 5.3 per cent was being maintained. He said Multan-Lahore motorway would be completed by next year.
The PM said the war against terrorism would continue till the elimination of the last terrorist from Pakistani soil. "Pakistan scarified a lot in the war against terrorism," he said, adding that the backbone of the terrorists was broken and very soon nation would get rid of this menace. Nawaz said that the completion of first unit of Sahiwal Coal-fired Power Plant in just 22 months was unprecedented. He appreciated the role of Punjab Chief Minister, Chinese Ambassador, Chinese and Pakistani engineers concerning the completion of the gigantic project.
To the accusations of opponents, he said, had the government been corrupt, it would not have been able to complete the development projects at a rapid pace. He said that politics of allegations would not bear fruit. He said PMLN government would not respond to them because of its focus on development.
"We are building a network of roads in Balochistan," he said, adding that a highway was being built and a 2600-kilometre highway is being built all the way from Khunjerab border post near China to Gwadar and it would be ready by 2019. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also spoke. He said that the promise to rid the country of darkness has been fulfilled under the leadership of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
"Today is an historic day when your dream has been materialized and 1320 megawatt Sahiwal Coal Power Project has been inaugurated," he said, adding that it was the biggest coal power project of the country and the first initiative under the CPEC that has been inaugurated. Under the supervision of Prime Minister, this project has been completed within a span of 22 months which is a new record.
Shahbaz said that Sahiwal Coal Power Project is an initiative of CPEC and CPEC is a part of one belt and one road programme. He said that under the CPEC, energy projects are being made in Pakistan with an investment of US $36 billion. He said this investment amount is 40 percent more than the reserves of Pakistan. He said there is no doubt that this historic investment of China is a manifestation of their trust in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.
"A network of projects is being laid throughout the country," he said. Shahbaz also pointed out that $800 million Neelam Jhelum Hydro Project was still incomplete for the last 18 years and now its cost had increased to $5 billion. He said that due to personal efforts of Prime Minister, this project would be completed next year. Shahbaz said that those levelling baseless allegations and telling lies would be perturbed over execution of development projects and Pakistan would continue to move ahead and CPEC would find its new ways of progress and prosperity. Earlier, the PM inaugurated Sahiwal Coal Power Project, comprising of two plants with a total capacity of 1,320MW. It is one of the early harvest projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). At present, it is producing 660MW.