PESHAWAR: The World Bank will start two hydropower projects of 245 MW in Swat district next year and its completion will bring an annual income of more than Rs13 billion to the province.
In this regard, an important meeting was held under the chairmanship of Secretary Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad Khan with the project directors of WB regarding the progress on the projects. The meeting was also attended by Special Secretary Energy Tashfeen Haider, Chief Executive PEDO Engineer Naeem Khan and Chief Engineer PEDO Shah Hussain.
During the meeting the Secretary Energy briefed that the World Bank will start construction work on two hydropower projects in Swat district next year in connection with providing financial support for the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s energy sector, including 157 MW Madyan Hydropower Project and 88 MW Gabral Kalam Hydropower Project.
In this regard, a 450 million dollar agreement has been signed between the World Bank and the provincial government. These projects will be completed by 2027, which will generate an annual income of more than Rs13 billion for the province.
The process of appointing an international consultant for the projects has been completed, who has started work on the work plan and future strategy of the project and practical work on the projects will be started from this year.
In the meeting, Secretary Energy Nisar Ahmad Khan appreciated the steps taken by the World Bank for the provision of financial support for development of the energy sector in KPK and expressed the hope that foreign investment will come to the province through the projects, which will help bring in economic stability in the province.
He expressed his displeasure over the delay in the construction of the projects by the field staff working on the projects. Reviewing timelines of the project, he issued strict instructions to the respective project directors to follow the new timelines speedily, warning that any further delay will not be tolerated.
