KARACHI, Oct 4: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has stressed on self power generation by organisations and newly developed residential localities to overcome power crisis in Karachi.

For this purpose, he said, it was imperative to have harmony between all such organisations which possessed the capacity and wished to go for power generation.

The governor made these observations at a meeting with a delegation of an Italian company, ANSALDO at the Governor’s House here on Wednesday to discuss power crisis and ways and means to overcome it. City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal and Naib City Nazim Nasreen Jalil were also present on the occasion.

The Italian delegation made mention of the gas turbine power plant gifted to Pakistan government by the government of Dubai, and said that now work on its shifting had started. The government of Dubai desired the city government Karachi to take its ownership, it said.

Syed Mustafa Kamal said that an agreement in this regard was ready to be signed.

Dr Ibad advised the city government officials that in the efforts towards overcoming the power crisis, technical consultation with KESC should be ensured because power distribution was the responsibility of that company which, too, was making efforts for enhancing its power generation.

The governor directed the city nazim to take all steps for the immediate installation of the gas turbine power plant and ensure that all bottlenecks in the way were removed.

The ANSALDO delegation informed the governor that the plant had a power generation capacity of 350 megawatts and it could produce an additional 100 megawatts. Besides, the emission from the plant could be used for producing alternate energy and water desalination.

The governor was informed that ANSALDO had installed gas turbine plants generating 15,000 megawatts in 90 countries.

Dr Ibad suggested that a feasibility report should be prepared in consultation with university professors and technical experts for attainment of alternative sources of energy. In the light of this report, he said, mini power plants be installed in Karachi.

He called for adoption of a coordinated strategy by provincial and city government organisations in cooperation with the KESC to help overcome power problem.—APP/PPI