PESHAWAR, June 27: The NWFP government has underlined a plan to clear major part of the Rs2 billion loan taken from the provincial public sector Sarhad Hydel Development Organization (SHYDO) during the 2003-04 financial year, official sources said.

At the start of the outgoing financial year, the provincial government had borrowed Rs2 billion from SHYDO to clear part of the province’s debt out of its total liabilities payable to the federal government.

Now that SHYDO was in the process of beginning execution of the multi-billion rupees Malakand-III hydel power station - a provincial public sector project - the organization needed to get its money back ensuring smooth flow of funds to implement the project, the sources said.

The provincial government had chalked out a plan to arrange 50 per cent of the total Rs6 billion estimated cost of the project from its own kitty, whereas the remaining funds required would be arranged by lending from the open market, the sources said.

The government had intended to clear major part of the Rs2 billion loan payable to the SHYDO during the current financial year to help the organization ensure smooth execution of the project.

In this connection the provincial government has chalked out a plan to divert Rs100 million every month during the next financial year to repay SHYDO’s loan.