Photo courtesy PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said Pakistan needs to urgently generate cheap electricity to reduce its energy import bill, which has soared to $27 billion.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the refurbishment project of Units 5 and 6 of the Mangla Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant—jointly conducted with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—he stressed that Pakistan could not afford to continue bearing the high costs of energy imports and must seek out alternative sources of energy to achieve economic stability.
Regretting that neither democratic nor military rulers had managed to construct sufficient dams to meet the country’s energy needs, he added: “Had water reservoirs been built on time, the country’s energy import bill would not have swelled to $27 billion.” Lamenting that “powerful lobbies and cartels” had campaigned against the construction of dams and solar power projects, he said that water storage reservoirs could also help mitigate the impact of climate change in light of this year’s devastating floods.
Describing USAID assistance for the refurbishment of the units of Mangla Dam as a “wonderful example of cooperation” between Pakistan and the United States, he thanked the organization for its grant of $150 million, as well as the €90 million provided by the Development Agency of France and an additional pledge of €65 million. Additionally, he said, WAPDA had contributed $178 million from its own resources. The prime minister also praised the U.S.’s interest in an extension program of the Tarbela Dam.
In his address to the event, U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome said Mangla Dam was a great symbol of Pak-U.S. cooperation, adding that Washington was also assisting WAPDA in increasing the power generation capacity of the Tarbela and Gomal Zam dams. Stressing the “critical importance” of maintaining and upgrading dams, he hoped the “green alliance” between Washington and Islamabad would prove beneficial for the energy and agriculture sectors of Pakistan.
The General Electric Hydro France Project director, meanwhile, said despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the refurbishment projects had been carried out effectively. He said six more units of the Mangla Dam would also be refurbished in future.
WAPDA Chairman Lt. Gen. (retd.) Sajjad Ghani, meanwhile, said the refurbishment of Mangla Dam’s units was in line with the federal government’s aim to generate clean, green and cheap energy. He said WAPDA had not only initiated new hydropower projects, but had also been rehabilitating and upgrading its existing hydroelectric power stations to maximize the ratio of environmentally-friendly and low-cost power generation in the national grid.