Government encouraging private sector investments in energy sector: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday said as the demands for energy are increasing rapidly due to high growth, the government is encouraging private sector investments to bridge the gap between demand and supply. He was chairing a meeting here to review the progress on Independent Power Projects (IPPs).
The prime minister said the demand for electricity is growing by 9.5 percent per annum and the government is taking short- and medium term steps to overcome the gap. He said as achieving energy security is among the major global challenges, energy, food and water security were major priorities of the government.
Shaukat Aziz said as a result of the focus of the government a number of power projects are at various stages of completion in the public and private sector. He said the economic stability, consistency and continuity of policies as well as the investment-friendly policies of the government have restored the confidence of investors and a number of companies have showed interest in investing in the power sector.