PESHAWAR: The Koto hydel project in Lower Dir district is likely to become operational by the end of the current year, officials say.

They said construction activities on the 40.8 megawatts project had entered final stages, according to an official statement issuedhere.

The officials said after the successful execution by the end of the current year, the project would produce 40.8 megawatts of low-cost electricity to provide more than Rs2 billion to the province annually and create employment opportunities in the province.

They said the project would help address the power crisis.

Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation chief executive officer Naeem Khan visited the project site and reviewed the progress of work.

Deputy director Engineer Muqeemuddin told him that several workers of the Chinese teams had gone back due to security reasons, while the Covid-19 emergency caused problems for the procurement of machinery for the project.

“Due to these reasons, work on the project was delayed slightly. However, after the security situation improved, the Chinese workers returned. Now, work is going on at a fast pace,” he said.

The deputy director said there were some issues in the acquisition of land for the project.

He added that deputy commissioner Iftikhar Khan had said discussions were under way with the residents regarding land transfer and hopefully, payments would be made to landowners soon.

Pedo chief executive Engineer Naeem Khan expressed satisfaction with the pace of work on the project.

He, however, directed field workers to increase it to the early benefit of the people. “This project will provide the province with billions of rupees annually besides creating massive employment opportunities for the people,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023