ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday recommended to the Ecnec two major projects in the power sector, costing Rs931.9 billion, to overcome energy crisis.

Dasu hydropower and Jamshoro coal-fired power projects will generate 5,500MW.

The Asian Development Bank has already approved $900 million for Jamshoro supercritical coal-fired power project, while World Bank has initiated the process to provide $700m for Dasu hydropower project.

The Dasu hydropower project costing Rs735bn will have generation capacity of 4300MW, and it will be developed in two stages and four phases, with each phase adding 1080MW of installed capacity.

The Jamshoro coal-fired power project being the first in the country to use supercritical boiler technology to produce 1200MW of electricity is expected to be completed by the end of 2018, and its outcome will be a more efficient energy mix through diversification from expensive furnace oil to less expensive coal.

The CDWP meeting, chaired by Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, also cleared a project for evacuation of power from 1000MW Quaid-i-Azam Park at Lal-Suhanra near Bahawalpur at a cost of Rs4bn.

The CDWP also gave concept approval of Tarbela-V extension hydropower project. Presently, Wapda is already implementing the World Bank-financed Tarbela-IV extension hydropower project.

The meeting considered 15 development projects in agriculture and food, education, energy, higher education and water resources sectors.

It approved six projects costing Rs4bn while six other projects worth Rs912bn were cleared for approval of Ecnec. In food and agriculture sector, the CDWP approved one project for application of satellite remote sensing and GIS technology for crop forecasting and estimation worth Rs917m, which will help in scientific crop forecasting.

In education sector, a project for capacity building of elementary teachers’ training institutes in Punjab, costing Rs3bn was also approved by CDWP under the Canadian debt swap arrangement.

In higher education sector, CDWP approved five projects, which included a project for the capacity-building and up-gradation of selected departments at the University of Punjab worth Rs879m with provision of new library and modern laboratories.

Other projects approved in higher education sector were establishment of Comsats Institute of Information Technology Campus at Abbottabad at a cost of Rs873m; establishment of Pakistan-Korea Capacity Building Centre for Agriculture and Livestock Technology at Arid Agriculture University in Rawalpindi worth Rs395m, construction of University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore campus at Narowal worth Rs930m; and the establishment of FM Radio Station in the Department of Media and Journalism in University of Balochistan, Quetta, worth Rs72m.

In the water resource sector, two projects including Kaitu Weir irrigation and power in North Waziristan Agency worth Rs14bn, and ‘Indus-21 water sector capacity building and advisory services’ project worth Rs7.6b, were approved by the CDWP subject to clear identification of tangible outcomes.

The CDWP also gave ‘concept approval’ for establishment of ‘Seerat Chairs’, one in each province. Mr Ahsan Iqbal directed the authorities concerned to ensure that ‘Seerat Chairs’ should focus on challenges being faced in modern societies in areas of leadership and governance, creating harmonious and tolerant communities, human rights and justice, business and commerce, education and knowledge, sustainable development, and social justice and welfare.

Mr Iqbal directed that leading universities in the country should establish their own consultancy firms by employing services of their faculty and students.