ISLAMABAD, JAN 03 (DNA) — Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday directed Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Power Division, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd (COPHCL) to ensure 100 percent power consumption to 300 MW Coal Fired Power Project in order to avoid any financial loss to the national exchequer.
The minister made these remarks while chairing a meeting to review the progress of 300 MW Coal Fired Power Project, said a press release issued here. The meeting was attended by the Chairman COPHCL, Chairman GPA and other relevant stakeholders.
The project was conceived under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) in 2016 that would cater to the needs of some 150,000 local people by the end of 2023.
The project aimed at improving the reliability of the local power supply that would help gradually solve the problems in current economic development and urban construction in the Gwadar region, which is being restricted by the shortage of power.
Earlier, the minister had directed the COPHCL to provide the exact demand of the electricity for Gwadar Free Zone and share a 10-year plan for electricity consumption by Gwadar Free Zone Company in order to establish the exact electricity utilization of 300 MW Coal Fired Power Project at Gwadar.
During the meeting, the minister also directed the Power Division to review the project and address impediments in order to achieve COD in January 2025. It is noted that all major projects under CPEC in Gwadar, including Gwadar Power Plant, the New Gwadar International Airport Project, the China-Pak Friendship Hospital, China-Pak Technical and Vocational Institute in Gwadar, the Gwadar East-bay Expressway Project, Gwadar Free Zone, and Gwadar Port would become a shining pearl in the region.
Ahsan Iqbal said the government was already working on a project of two transmission lines from Iran which would increase the demand of electricity. The incumbent government had revived all the CPEC Projects since it came into power in April last year. The previous government had stopped these projects.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif already assured his Chinese counterparts that CPEC was the top priority of the incumbent government and the recent Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) was one of the examples in which both sides had agreed to revive several development projects, he added. = DNA
 — Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday directed Mi){kind=link}