ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed concerned authorities to complete Quaid-i-Azam Solar Power Park (QASP) by April 2016 to enable the country to meet its energy needs at the earliest.

The prime minister directed speedy completion of the project while chairing a meeting to review progress of the 900MW solar power generation project, which is prioritised under the multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

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In attendance were representatives of Zonergy, the Chinese company working on QASP, managing director National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and officials from Punjab government.

The premier was briefed about the current progress, that 50MW of the project will be completed by August 14, 2015 while a total of 300MW will be operational by December 31, 2015.

Zonergy had earlier committed to complete the project by September 2016 but now, under the directions of the prime minister, its representatives have assured that the project will be completed by the first week of April 2016.

In the first phase of the project, at least 0.5 million solar panels have been installed in three blocks over 500 acres of the solar park land.

Earlier, the infrastructure for the park, including a boundary wall, buildings and roads were constructed while water was taken to the site from a nearby canal. The construction work of the first phase of 100MW had been completed earlier in the year.

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The second and third units of the solar park comprise 300MW and 600MW, respectively. The work on these two units had been jointly inaugurated during by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the latter's visit to Pakistan in March.

The second phase is expected to be completed in the beginning of next year followed by work on the third phase.