A high-level delegation led by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal is currently in China to pursue existing investors and financial institutions and tap in more firms in the transmission and distribution network as part of CPEC’s second phase. The delegation met leaderships of three top companies and the National Energy Administration of China — a centralized energy planning, coordination and policymaking entity — on Thursday in Beijing seeking support of China for greater involvement in hydropower generation as well as investment in transmission and distribution networks.
China is already associated with the construction of several hydropower projects the completion of which has the potential to help resolve challenges confronting Pakistan in the power sector but regrettably these projects face delays due to unresolved financial issues as well as security concerns for Chinese nationals working on different projects. In a related development, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong that new standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been developed for the security of Chinese citizens and strict implementation of the same is being ensured. Hopefully, this would put to rest Chinese concerns about security and now relevant ministries would come out with a satisfactory solution to the issue of outstanding payments to Chinese power companies. This would encourage more Chinese companies to respond positively to the request of Pakistan for investment in hydro-power generation as well as transmission and distribution system. Our power and distribution network is almost obsolete and the country lacks required resources for its modernization and upgradation. China has the expertise and resources that can help bring about a revolution in Pakistan’s power sector. Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal deserves credit for his wholehearted commitment to CPEC-related activities as is evident from the project-specific meetings in Beijing but a breakthrough can only be achieved if all ministries and departments show a matching response to clear roadblocks in the way of smooth progression of the COEC process.
