RAWALPINDI, June 19: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said the government would encourage foreign investment in alternative energy sector to meet the power requirements.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of solar village ‘Narian Kharian’ here on Sunday, he said his government’s economic policies had made Pakistan an attractive place for investment.

He said an investment of $1 billion in wind energy and $9 million in solar energy was expected in the country. He said besides this, several national and foreign companies were evincing keen interest to invest in various fields.

Prime Minister Aziz said realizing the importance of renewable energy, the government had approved the establishment of the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to identify projects to meet the power shortage.

He said due to government policies, the country’s growth rate has increased to 8.4 per cent this year, adding, now Pakistan is being considered one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.

The prime minister said the economic reforms and continuity and consistency of policies had provided a solid base for the economy to grow.

Mr Aziz said the government had particularly focused on the uplift of rural areas by starting several projects in education, health and provision of clean drinking water.

The government has allocated a huge amount of Rs272 billion for various development projects in the current fiscal year and the maximum amount will be utilized for the development of rural areas, the prime minister said.

He added that the government was striving to provide alternative energy to far-flung areas where Wapda lines were not possible.

The prime minister said the government has allocated Rs1.5 billion for the proper utilization and promotion of alternative energy in the country.

Prime Minister Aziz said the government had launched several programmes to improve the life of common man. He said under government’s micro-finance scheme, small loans would be provided to the people to start small scale business.

He said the government would strengthen the local government system to involve the people at grassroot level in decision-making process.

He advised the people to elect sincere and dedicated persons in the upcoming local government elections to strengthen the political culture and solve the problems of the people at local level.

The prime minister announced a hospital in Chakri and installation of wireless local loop system in Narian Kharian and its adjacent areas.

He said electricity to other areas of the country, which had remained neglected in the past, would be provided soon. He said the government had planned to start 100-house projects of solar energy system in each province.