SKARDU, Oct 24: President General Pervez Musharraf inaugurated a hydel-power station at the Sadpara dam project here on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, he said: “I have been inaugurating mega projects in the Northern Areas for two days and I am pleased to see development works in progress here.”

He said that by next year three more hydel-power stations would be completed at the place to produce 17 Megawatt electricity.

He said it was laudable that a large quantity of potatoes was being provided to other parts of the country from Skardu and, after the completion of the dam, more land wound be irrigated and fruit and vegetables would be produced in larger quantities.

He said the government was paying attention to producing electricity from resources other than oil, like gas, coal, water, sun, wind and nuclear energy because the increase in power production would raise people’s standard of living.

Gen Musharraf said: “We are shifting financial and administrative powers from Islamabad to elected representatives of the Northern Areas and now the deputy chief executive of the Northern Areas would be the chief executive who will have full powers.”

He said Baltistan had a vast potential of tourism because of its unique beauty and the government would develop tourist spots in the area.

Northern Areas chief executive Maj (Retd) Tahir Iqbal and Wapda chairman Shakeel Durrani also spoke on the occasion.

Later, talking to members of the Northern Areas Council, the president said he would try to get the diversion of the Shatung canal included in the Sadpara dam project, and also set up university campus in Baltistan and two new districts in the region.

Northern Areas Legislative Council member Wazir Willayat Ali told the president that 60 per cent water in the under-construction Sadpara dam project had to be diverted from the Shatung canal, but Wapda had dropped the scheme which would adversely affect the dam.