May 27, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429

KARACHI, May 26: The federal minister for finance, revenue and economic affairs, Syed Naveed Qamar, said on Monday that there would be no load-shedding in the country by the end of the next year.

During his visit to the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he told newsmen that the PPP-led government had planned various short- and long-term initiatives/programmes to meet the growing demand of electricity in the country.

He said that the government had chalked out a clear and comprehensive policy on energy wherein various options including windmill and solar energy would also be used.

In continuity of the 1994 energy policy of the then PPP government, the present set up had moved to attract independent power producers (IPPs) besides enhancing the capacity of the existing facilities and rationalising the use of electricity, he added.

The minister said that against the exiting shortfall of 1,000 megawatts, the government had so far received applications from IPPs having a capacity of 500 megawatts and more applications were expected during the next month.—APP