ISLAMABAD, Aug 16: Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said the government is encouraging the private sector to invest in power projects to enhance the country's power generation capacity.

The minister was talking to a delegation of the Rupali group led by its managing director Badruddin Feerasta that called on him here on Monday. The delegation met the minister to express its interest in establishing two hydel power projects in the country.

These projects include a 130-mw power project at Keyal Khwar, district Kohistan, and a 700-mw hydel power project in Swat Valley (comprising of Kedman, Kalam and Swat projects). This will generate some 830 mw of cheap hydel power.

The minister while appreciating the interest shown by the Rupali group said that there was a hydel power generation potential of some 40,000 mw in the country and there was a need to tap this power by constructing hydel power projects.

The minister said that Pakistan's economy was growing at a rapid rate and there was an increasing power demand in the country. He said that there was a need of establishing hydel power projects to generate cheap hydel electricity. He said that this was the only way the electricity tariff could be reduced.

The minister said the government wanted to establish a hydel thermal ratio of 70:30 in the country. Mr Sherpao assured the Rupali group of the ministry's all-out support for any hydel power project in the country. -APP