Shahbaz Sharif gives another date to end loadshedding

Lahore : Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that water resources are being developed for agri prosperity in the province. He said that work is being carried out speedily on energy projects so that maximum land could be brought under cultivation for increasing per acre yield and meeting power needs of farmers.

He expressed these views during a meeting of Federal Minister for Power and Water Kh. Muhammad Asif, Chairman WAPDA and other senior officials at Ministry of Water and Power in Islamabad today.

The Chief Minister said that besides construction of water reservoirs, projects of generating energy are being completed speedily in the province. He said that with the completion of these projects, electricity production will increase substantially within next two years and farmers will not face any difficulty regarding water and power.

Shahbaz Sharif said that sincere and serious steps taken during three years for overcoming energy crisis are unprecedented and energy projects are being executed speedily throughout the country including Punjab.

He said that under China Pakistan Economic Corridor, 36 billion dollars are for energy sector projects and work is being carried out round the clock on various projects under CPEC. Coal, solar, wind and hydel power projects are being set up throughout the country under China Pakistan Economic Corridor besides establishment of communication, transport  and infrastructure projects, he added.

The Chief Minister said that speedy implementation of projects after signing of agreements under CPEC is unprecedented. He said that 1320 Megawatt Sahiwal Coal Power Project will start production of electricity in the middle of next year.

Similarly, gas based power projects of 3600 megawatt electricity are being speedily forwarded in the province, he added.

Shahbaz Sharif said that under CPEC, Chinese investment of 36 billion dollars in energy projects will result in resolving the problem of shortage of electricity. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the projects are being executed in a transparent manner and the efforts being made for the elimination of energy crisis are exemplary.

He said that with the completion of electricity projects, loadshedding will be eliminated and cheap electricity will be available.  He said that completion of energy projects will result in adding thousands of megawatt more electricity into the national grid by the end of next year.

Federal Minister for Water and Power, Kh. Muhammad Asif appreciated development projects and ongoing mega projects of provincial government for overcoming energy crisis. He said that industrial and agriculture sector needs will be fulfilled by increasing national production of electricity with mutual cooperation. The meeting also discussed pace of energy projects.