Bajaur solar project remains stalled years after launch

BAJAUR: A solar power scheme initiated by the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation to provide cheaper and uninterrupted electricity to Khar Bazaar has still not become operational, despite work beginning in 2019, according to officials and local traders.

Officials said the Mini Solar Grid Station is among nine similar projects planned for the merged districts to help residents cope with persistent power shortages at lower rates. In Pedo cited in the original report, the nine projects were launched around seven years ago with support from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Annual Development Programme and carry a combined estimated cost of Rs575 million.

The Bajaur project, located at Adil Chowk along the Shandi-Khar Bypass near Khar town, has an estimated cost of Rs40 million. People familiar with the scheme said it was supposed to be completed in 2024. They said the station has a capacity of 175kV and includes 324 solar panels of 580 watts each, along with a boundary wall and a control room.

Despite completion of most of the physical work, the facility remains non-functional nearly two years after its target completion date, according to residents and officials.

Reasons cited for delay

A Pedo assistant director in Peshawar, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the project has not yet been made operational. The official said two main factors were behind the delay: a shortage of funds to lay a 1km transmission line and opposition from local residents to the proposed route of the line through their land and homes.

The same official said construction work on the Khar Bypass had lowered the level of the site where the project is located, causing rainwater and drainage water to collect around the solar panels. According to the official, the standing water has not only further delayed commissioning of the plant but has also exposed the installed panels to risk.

He said the panels would need to be removed temporarily so the site could be filled and raised, adding that this work would require fresh approval for additional funds.

Operational plan and local concerns

According to the Pedo official, the plan is for the department to operate the project directly during its first two years after commissioning. After that, management would be handed to a committee consisting of the additional deputy commissioner, the assistant commissioner of Khar, and the president and general secretary of Khar Bazaar.

The official said the project was expected to recover around Rs14 per unit from consumers, with the proceeds to be used for maintenance and payment of staff salaries.

Local traders and other residents have voiced concern over the continued delay. Amir Rehman, a former president of the Khar Traders’ Association, said shopkeepers in Khar Bazaar, particularly those whose businesses depend heavily on electricity, were worried about the prolonged hold-up. He said traders had contacted Pedo officials at least three times in 2024 and 2025 in an effort to get the scheme activated, but it had still not started operating.

Wajid Ali Shah, the current president of the traders’ association, said the absence of a Pedo setup in Bajaur was also contributing to the delay.

District administration says steps agreed

Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan said Pedo officials had agreed during a meeting on February 4, 2026, to start filling and levelling the site where the solar panels are installed so that rainwater does not accumulate there.

The deputy commissioner said the district administration considered the prolonged non-functionality of the project over what he described as minor issues to be a serious matter. He added that Pedo officials had also agreed to begin work on the transmission line linking the project to Khar Bazaar after being informed that an alternative route had been identified.