LAHORE: Leading international project finance risk specialists at a conference on renewable energy sought federal government’s intervention to switch from thermal generation to alternative energy options.

They also called for launching renewable and alternative energy projects in Pakistan.

Board of Investment (BoI) Secretary Syed Iftikhar Hussain Babar in his keynote speech at the event, organized by Lockton MENA, in collaboration with Fidelity Insurance Brokers, highlighted the importance of such deliberations at a time when the country was faced with severe energy crisis and the present government was making efforts to add 10,000MW in the national grid by 2025.

Babar said the growth of renewable energy projects in Pakistan would contribute to balancing the energy mix of the country, which at present was heavily dependent on thermal generation.

He said a high-level committee has been constituted at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to reform the insurance sector and a conflict resolution cell is functional at the BoI.

Tony Saada, CEO, Lockton MENA and Hassan Rehman Muhammadi, CEO, FIB said that the seminar would provide a forum to debate issues in addressing risks in Pakistan’s renewable energy projects and help remove technical hurdles in their financing through international lenders.

Other speakers included John Nolan, David Way, Phil Pavey, Syed Amir Ali, Ashruf Hasan Rana, Mansoor Ali Khan and Ata Khatib.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2015

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