LAHORE: The signing ceremony of Rs100 billion financing agreement between the Punjab Thermal Power (Pvt) Ltd and a consortium of six banks, for enhancing capacity upto 1,263 megawatt, was held at a hotel on Thursday.
Provincial Secretary Finance Abdullah Sumbal signed the agreement in the presence of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.
Addressing the ceremony, the CM termed the agreement the largest sovereign guarantee in the history of the country and congratulated provincial ministers Hashim Jawan Bakht, Dr Akhtar Malik and others.
GSA and PPA agreements had been signed despite slackness in business activities due to corona onslaught, he maintained. The Punjab Thermal Power Plant was speedily completed and electricity would be generated by the end of 2021, he said.
The CM said 80 percent work was completed on RLNG-based Punjab Power Plant in Trimmu as installation of 93-kilometres long gas pipeline and 48-kilometres long transmission line projects had been completed.
Similarly, the latest technology-based system has been installed in the Punjab Power Plant to generate cheap electricity. Due to payment in Pak rupees, the precious reserves would be saved along with a decrease in the production cost of the electricity, he maintained. This would help in bringing a substantial decrease in circular debt along with creating job opportunities for thousands of people. The Punjab government was giving attention to electricity generation through alternate sources keeping in view the less cost of electricity produced through solar, wind or hydropower plants, the CM held.
He maintained that electricity was produced at the rate of Rs 9.29 to Rs 27.12 per unit in power plants installed in previous tenures. However, the per-unit cost of electricity generated through Punjab Thermal Power Plant would be Rs 8.95 per unit, he added.
More than 27 million units of electricity have been generated by the hydropower projects installed in Pakpattan and Marala by the incumbent government, he said.
Meanwhile, 7,000 government offices have been converted to solar energy, including 6,991 primary schools and a DHQ hospital. By the mid of next year, the government would complete Chianwali and Deg-outfall Hydropower Projects, he announced.
He further announced to early complete the conversion of 10,861 schools and 2,324 BHUs to solar energy. In addition to the installation of 1,000 megawatt capacity power plant in Rojhan, solar and biogas hydropower plants would also be installed in Vehari and Samundri, the CM added. The government is also vigorously pursuing the generation of 150-megawatt energy through waste-to-energy projects.
Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik said the journey of bringing real change was continuous and the change process in Punjab would be soon visible in the whole of the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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