Islamabad: (March 24, 2021). Advisor to Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Energy and Power, Himayat Ullah Khan, has said that the profit sharing with provinces in hydropower sector is necessary for the effective sustainability of the projects. He said this while sharing his views with the participants at public private dialogue ‘Potential of renewable energy and hydropower development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Opportunities and Challenges,’ jointly organized by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment & Trade (KPBoIT) and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Advisor Khan added further that Public private partnership in energy sector is an excellent proposition. The Hydro projects are environmental-friendly and create good socio-economic impacts besides being cost-effective. Thus, it makes hydro-projects suitable, especially for poverty-stricken province like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Sustainable development in Pakistan is possible by creating better coordination between federating units and better facilitation and incentivization of all stakeholders involved including provinces, displaced public and environmental resources,” he concluded.
Hassan Daud Butt, CEO, KPBoIT, earlier highlighted that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is fully understands the socio-economic, financial, and environmental impacts of renewable energy which is highly positive sign. He said that the province is blessed with renewable energy sources and the same need to be harvested.
Shahjahan Mirza, Managing Director Private Power Infrastructure Board, was of view that coordination between federal and provincial government is of paramount importance. He added further that the Integrated generation plan is politically unbiased and gives evidence-based planning mechanism and should be utilized for all power sector project planning.
Dr Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director, SDPI, termed the recent initiatives and policies in renewable energy by the federal government and government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a significant step forward in Pakistan’s ambition to support clean energy. He said that CPEC and other clean and green investments are expected to play a critical role in this transition.
Managing Director, NESPAK, Tahir Masood emphasized the strategic planning as the major bottleneck in the mega projects. Muhammad Ali Qureshi, representing United Nations Industrial Development Organization, highlighted the need of more Public Private Partnership models and added further that the governments should provide significant facilitation for intra provincial and inter provincial political dispute resolution and coordination.
Hassan Khawar representing the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) project, said that financial models for hydropower projects are being developed with PEDO and this will ensure that the sector is sustainable. Dr Hina Aslam, Associate Research Fellow, SDPI, informed the participants that SDPI would continue to highlight the potential of renewable and clean energy in Pakistan. Imran Halim from Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO), and Faisal Hayat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company also shared their views on the occasion.