PESHAWAR: Advisor to the chief minister on energy, Himayatullah Khan, said on Thursday that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would start construction work of provincial hydropower project on Kunhar River during the current year in Mansehra district with the assistance of Asian Development Bank.

He said that matters related to documentation and land acquisition were being disposed of and work on the 300-megawatt project in Balakot would soon be initiated. He said this during a visit to the sites of 300-megawatt Balakot hydropower and 884-megawatt Suki Kanari hydropower projects.

Mr Himayatullah said every possible measure would be adopted to protect the rights of people whose land would be acquired for the project.

On this occasion, secretary energy and electricity Mohammad Zubair Khan, Pedo chief executive Engineer Naeem Khan, Mansehra DC and officials accompanied that adviser.

He also inspected the ongoing work on Suki Kanari project and told the officials that this project would be completed by December 2022. On completion, he said this project would benefit the local population and provide low-cost electricity to the consumers across the country.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2021