MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that his government was committed to completing all power projects on schedule, so as to rid Pakistan of frequent power outages and boosting industrial growth. The prime minister is personally overseeing the mega Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP), designed to produce 969 MW of hydel electricity and reduce reliance on thermal power generation. Following a detailed briefing on the project, the prime minister directed further speeding up the work so as to hasten the pace of national progress and development.
“We will do our best to fulfill the promises made to the nation, to end loadshedding from Pakistan,” he said. “Who would be more worried about it than me? We will not let any obstacle come in the way in this regard.” The prime minister also stated that the locals be given preference in jobs in the Neelum Jhelum project. The chief executive officer of the project informed the prime minister that 78 per cent jobs had been given to the locals. The project envisages diversion of Neelum waters through tunnels at Nauseri about 41km upstream of Muzaffarabad and draining the waters in Jhelum river at Chatter Kalas in Azad Jammu Kashmir, where the powerhouse will be located.
The project would produce 969 MW through its four turbines of 242.25 MW each, generating 5,150 GWh (5.15 billion units) annually. The project was launched on January 2008 and was likely to be completed by mid-2017 and was being executed by the China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC). Prime Minister Nawaz, who was accompanied by Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid, was given a detailed briefing on the progress in the project.
He was informed that over 85.3 per cent of work had been completed, while efforts were underway to complete it on time. WAPDA Chairman Zafar Mahmood informed the prime minister that the work on tunnels was in the last stages of completion while half of the steel-lining has also been completed. He was told that structural work on the dam and its spillway has also been fully completed.
Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Birjees Tahir and Special Assistant on Political Affairs Dr Asif Kirmani were also present on the occasion.
.jpg)
