ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: Pakistan plans to acquire an additional power generation capacity of 16,000MW by 2015 and needs $30 billion investment to meet the target.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday after the inauguration of the Inter-governmental Conference on Central Asia-South Asia Regional Electricity Market, Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the government would invest $10 billion for the additional capacity and generate another $20 billion through private sector by providing an enabling environment.

He said that loadshedding would come to an end by end of next year.

He said the government organised recently a roundtable conference of international investors in Washington that was attended by 30 leading global players of coal-based power generating companies.

The government would soon hold international competitive bidding to set up coal-fired power plants in the country, he said.

Responding to a question, he rejected reports that the World Bank had declined to finance Bhasha dam and said the work on the project would be taken up next year.

The minister said the planned import of 1,000MW electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan under the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA 1000) project would promote regional energy trade and lead to greater regional cooperation in economic and energy fields.

Responding to a question about security situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the electricity import from Central Asia, the minister said the project was in the economic interest of the neighbouring country and hence its people would ensure its completion.

He said the law and order problem in Afghanistan would not hamper implementation of the project. He said the import of 1000MW power from Central Asian states through Afghanistan would be a milestone for economic development.

The four nations are expected to sign on Monday an inter-governmental council agreement for import of electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Afghan Minister for Economy, Energy and Water Dr Jalil Shams, Kyrgyz Minister for Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources Saparbek Balkibehiv and Tajik First Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Ghulamov will sign the regional electricity trade agreement. The Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) for Central Asia-South Asia Regional Electricity Market is the first proposed cross-border electricity trade project among Central and South Asian states and is known as CASA-1000 that envisages 1000MW power import by Pakistan.

The minister said the IGC forum would provide an opportunity to the regional countries to meet regularly and coordinate their technical and institutional modalities with the assistance of lenders and other stakeholders.

He said the power supplies had not been able to keep pace with rising demand, causing the massive problem of loadshedding that was hampering industrial, agricultural and commercial activities and badly affecting the national economy.

He said the government was working to commission new projects on a fast track basis as well as taking in hand long-term projects based on indigenous resources, besides initiating electricity import projects.

He said that international institutions like Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and World Bank were actively supporting the electricity import projects and hoped their support and cooperation would help overcome challenges associated with CASA-1000 project that should lead to development of regional electricity market.