Nawaz Sharif performs the ground-breaking of Kurram Tangi Dam

Lahore : Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif will perform the ground-breaking of Kurram Tangi Dam project, located in North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Friday today (March 3).

On the occasion ; Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Friday reiterated his resolve to end electricity loadshedding in 2018, after completion of the ongoing hydro power projects initiated by the Federal Government.

Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Tangi Kurram Dam here, he  mentioned a number of hydro power projects as part of his energy policy, which were in process of completion across the country. He said those project included Diamer Bhasha, Dasu, Munda,  Kurram Tangi, Golan-Gol, Machai dams and several others hydro power projects would add surplus electricity to the national grid, ending the power crisis permanently.

He recalled that when his government came to power in 2013, about 18 to 20 hours loadshedding was a routine matter, which had now been reduced to three to four hours due to vibrant energy policy.

The Prime Minister said that PML-N government’s judicious utilization of natural resources had steered the country and the nation towards revolutionary change. “Poverty and illiteracy is not our destiny, rather we will make our own fortune. A prosperous future is awaiting us,” he told the gathering. He said PML-N had ended the politics of confrontation and negativity and laid the foundation of reconciliatory approach in politics.

Kurram Tangi Dam will have a gross water storage capacity of 1.2 million acre feet (MAF) in addition to generating 83.4 mega watt (MW) low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity, a press release issued by the PM’s Media Office here on Thursday said.

The project will be implemented in two stages and the Stage-I will be completed in about three years. The project is a significant development towards water and energy security in the country.

Kurram Tangi Dam is an important project for the country as it will provide water for irrigated agriculture in North Waziristan Agency and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, mitigate floods and generate hydel electricity.

The project will not only help cope with increasing requirements of water and electricity in the country but also usher in an era of socio-economic development in the far-flung and backward areas of North Waziristan Agency and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.