PEDO accelerates work on seven hydel power projects

PESHAWAR, Jan 25 (APP): Provincial Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) has accelerated work on seven hydro power projects worth 230.6 megawhatt to bolster power production in the province.

Officials in KP Energy Department told APP on Tuesday that the seven hydel power projects include 10.2 MW Jabori, 11.8 MW Karora, 40.0 MW Koto, 84 MW Matlatan, 69 MW Lavi, 10.5 MW Charkhel and 5.6 MW Baranda would help arrest the menace of load shedding.

The official said work on 300 MW Balakot hydel power project would be initiated this year with the financial support of the Asian Development Bank.

The World Bank, he said, would provide assistance in construction of 88MW Kabral Kalam and 157MW Madain hydel power projects.

He said work on 197MW Kalam-Israit and 215 MW Israit-Kaedam hydel power projects is being started in Swat on public private partnership with assistance of the Korean Government.

To generate inexpensive electricity, he said the KP Government has introduced a unique model by establishing its own grid company for provision of electricity from new power projects.

He said Secretary Energy and Power Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah has recently visited Dubai Expo where he met with investors.

He said that domestic and foreign investors showed great interest in the energy sector at Dubai Expo and agreed to invest in this sector.

The official said the provincial government was implementing investor friendly policies and providing maximum facilities to them under one window operation.

He said the energy department has become a revenue generating entity in the province by generating up to Rs6 billion revenues annually.

The department would increase hydel power generation capacity from 161 MW to 212 MW that would help generate Rs 10 billion annually this year, he concluded.