Islamabad: In the Senate Power Committee meeting, Federal Minister for Energy Owais Leghari said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities did not understand and present the CCI-approved power policy correctly. The meeting discussed the status of the 207 MW Midyan and 88 MW Gabral hydropower projects.
The Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that Rs5 billion worth of land has been purchased for these projects, but the federation has removed them from the list. Owais Leghari explained that these projects are based on World Bank loans and electricity would be expensive if purchased from them. He added that the consumers have saved Rs 3400 billion by eliminating 5 IPPs.
The Additional Secretary Power said that the contract for the Gabral Power Project has not been signed yet and several other projects are also under consideration. In the meeting, the members raised questions on the permission for land purchase and the increase in the protected category limit. The Chairman of the Committee recommended that the KP government should work with the federal government to resolve these issues.
