September 21, 2008	Sunday	Ramazan 20, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 20: Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf has said the private sector will add 3,480MW of electricity to the national grid by 2010.

Presiding over a meeting of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board on Saturday, he said 2,380MW would be added to the system by next year and another 1,100MW the following year.

The minister said that due to wrong policies of the past regime, people were facing acute power shortages resulting in massive loadshedding, which was not only a nightmare for the common man but was also causing huge losses to the economy.

Mr Ashraf said that soon after taking charge, the PPP-led government had taken urgent corrective measures. He lauded the efforts of the PPIB which had evinced keen interest in the government’s ‘fast-track initiative’. The minister said the government had adopted a transparent process for short-listing the companies for these projects. Eight projects with a cumulative capacity of 1,366MW would be commissioned in 2009.

Mr Ashraf said the government believed in facilitating the investors and they would not face any hurdles or delays during the implementation phase of the projects.

He said an energy mix of hydropower, coal from Thar and imported coal was necessary to make electricity affordable.

Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Ahmad Waqar, Planning Commission Secretary Suhail Safdar, Petroleum and Natural Resources acting Secretary G. A. Sabri, Water and Power Development Authority Chairman Shakil Durrani, PPIB Managing Director Fayyaz Elahi and other senior government officials attended the meeting.