PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday inaugurated three micro hydropower generation stations in Battagram district with main focus on inexpensive electricity to consumers.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Provincial Minister for Education and Energy Atif Khan on Wednesday jointly inaugurated the 305 kilowatt-power stations.
Imran said these projects would generate inexpensive electricity for domestic consumption and a large number of people would benefit from it. These are community-driven projects and residents of the area will run it, he added.
He said the provincial government would establish 350 micro hydropower generation stations during next 1.5 years. On the occasion, energy minister Atif Khan announced up-gradation of local high schools and construction of a sports stadium in Shamlai.
The minister said that work on 356 micro hydropower projects costing Rs 5.524 billion in 12 different districts of the province was underway with community partnership. He said 37 stations had been constructed while remaining would be completed by the end of 2017.
He added that number of micro projects would be enhanced to 1,000 with support of the Asian Development Bank. He said a new power policy had been approved for full utilisation of hydropower potential.
He maintained that work on six 214 megawatt power projects was in progress out of which three projects would start producing 56MW of electricity this year.
To attract domestic and foreign investment in the province, six hydropower projects in private sector – including Arkari Goal (Chitral) 99MW, Naran Dam (Mansehra) 188MW, Sheko Kach (Lower Dir) 120MW, Gorband (Shangla) 21MW, Batta Kundi (Mansehra), 96MW and Nandihar (Battagram) 12MW – had already been advertised while work on 84MW Mataltan hydropower project in Swat had also been approved.
The minister asserted that the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation was working on a plan to install solar panels in 5,650 houses besides provision of solar power to 200 villages of the province.
