ISLAMABAD, DEC 19, (DNA) – Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting to review progress on various energy related projects, here at PM House this morning.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the capacity and timeline for completion of various ongoing power projects in Pakistan. The meeting was informed that around 10, 996 MW of power will be added to the national grid by March 2018 against an expected generation shortfall of 7,000 to 8,000 MW, estimated for 2017-18. The significant addition of power to the national grid will eliminate load shedding from the country.

The meeting was further briefed that work on improving the transmission system is going on in all parts of the country, which is closely monitored by the Ministry of Water & Power. The system augmentation work for carrying the additional capacity will be completed by the end of 2017, which will make the country’s 90 % transmission system constraint-free, said the briefing.

The Prime Minister said that getting rid of power shortages is essential for realizing the huge economic potential of the country, which was unfortunately ignored by the successive governments in last 15 years. The Prime Minister said the tireless efforts of the present government are not only restricted to end power shortages from the country by 2018 as the long term plans of the government include production of more than 30, 000 MWs of electricity by 2022. ‘Never in the history of Pakistan have there been such huge investments made for production of electricity; aiming to fulfil our needs and also cater for the projected demands in the future.

The Prime Minister said that increased power generation would substantially contribute towards economic growth and increased industrial activities. The Prime Minister added that he is personally monitoring the progress on the ongoing power projects across the country to ensure timely completion of these projects.’ Our energy plan is the centrepiece of our economic vision and no laxity in the execution and completion of energy projects could be tolerated ‘, emphasized the Prime Minister.

The meeting was attended by, Federal Minister for Finance Mr. Ishaq Dar, Minister for Panning, Development & Reform Mr Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Water & Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, SAPM Mr. Tariq Fatemi and other senior officials of the government.