- Secretary Energy says Koto, Karora and Jabbori projects completed with own resources
- Projects of 330MW power generation capacity to be in next two years
PESHAWAR: In a major boost to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s energy sector, the provincial government has completed three hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 63 megawatts using its own resources and is expected to earn more than Rs4.4 billion annually from these schemes, while work continues on several large ongoing projects across the province.
Secretary Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad shared these details while chairing a review meeting at the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) office on progress made on seven major ongoing hydropower projects across the province.
He said work has also been accelerated on a 40-kilometre-long transmission line along the Swat corridor, which will be completed next year and will enable the sale of cheaper electricity to the province’s industrial sector.
Briefing the meeting, PEDO Chief Executive Habibullah Shah said that three key hydropower projects with a total capacity of 63 megawatts were successfully completed during the current year.
He said these include the 40.8-megawatt Koto hydropower project in Dir, the 11.8-megawatt Karora hydropower project in Shangla and the 10.2-megawatt Jabbori hydropower project in Mansehra.
Habibullah Shah also informed the meeting about progress on several large ongoing schemes, including the 300-megawatt Balakot hydropower project in Mansehra and the 157-megawatt Madain hydropower project in Swat.
He said work is also underway on the 88-megawatt Gabral hydropower project in Kalam, the 84-megawatt Matiltan hydropower project in Swat, the 69-megawatt Lawi hydropower project in Chitral and the 6.9-megawatt Mujahideen Power Project in Torghar.
Nisar Ahmad expressed strong displeasure over the slow pace of work on three flagship energy projects in Swat district and stressed the need to remove bottlenecks. He set a deadline for the start of electricity generation of 330 megawatts from these projects within the next two years.
The secretary energy termed the 40-kilometre-long 132/220 kV transmission line project from Matiltan to Madain as critically important and directed that it must be completed within the stipulated timeframe next year.
He also directed the newly appointed project director of the province’s largest hydropower scheme, the 300-megawatt Balakot project, to further accelerate work.
