Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Kohala Hydropower Project has reached a historic tripartite agreement, with an investment of 2.4billion dollars in the energy sector.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, Federal Ministers, Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing and others witnessed the ceremony.
Prime Minister Imran Khan addressed the signing ceremony of Kohala Hydropower Project Agreement and said that prices have gone up due to generation of electricity from imported fuel. Generating electricity from oil also affects the environment.
Therefore government has focused on clean energy instead of imported fuel. Leading Three Gorges Company will develop Kohala Hydel project. The project will create employment opportunities in Azad Kashmir, he added.
He said the project has been the largest investment of $2.4 billion and Pakistan has great potential to generate electricity from water.
He said that the government is focused on eco-friendly electricity generation projects by utilising water resources to end dependency on imported fuel. PM Imran Khan said that the hydropower project will also generate job opportunities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Energy Minister Omar Ayub also addressed the ceremony where he invited foreign companies to get benefits of opportunities of investment in wind energy projects in Pakistan. He said that foreign companies could also avail facilities by installing manufacturing units in Pakistan for exports to other countries.
According to the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), the agreement was signed between Chinese ‘Three Gorges’ company, PPIB and the AJK government.
Earlier, retired Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (CPECA), described it as a historic day in a tweet and said that it has been the largest investment from an IPP of $ 2.4 billion towards the energy sector.
The Chairman CPEC Authority said that with the clear direction of the Prime Minister to expedite the work on the Economic Corridor projects, all parties have worked hard for this day.
