QUETTA, Aug 23: The Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) Chief Executive Officer, Brig Tasadiq Hussain Shah, has said that the approved 300km-long Dadu-Khuzdar 220 kv electricity transmission line and grid station to be completed at a cost of Rs3,810 million is a major step towards progress in Balochistan.

Briefing senators, MNAs and MPAs in the provincial assembly conference room here on Monday, he asserted that completion of the mega project would not only solve the power problem in the southwest areas of the province but it would also be possible to connect Makran with the national grid network, the statement stated.

Brig Tasadiq informed the parliamentarians that the government intended to link Balochistan through the Dadu-Khuzdar and Goth Addu-Loralai 260 Kms double circuit at a cost of Rs 2,860 million. The province is at present connected through the Guddu-Sibi-Quetta link grid.

Similarly, Mungochar-Khuzdar 132 kv single circuit would be changed into a double circuit at a cost of Rs300 million that cover 236 Kms area adding that work on the projects at Loralai-Saifullah, Basima, Duki, Zehri, Naal and Wadh was going on satisfactorily, and the uplift programme would be completed by June 2005, he added.

During the question and answer session, the chief executive of Qesco urged the parliamentarians to ask the growers that were supplied electricity on fix rate basis at Rs4000/- per-month should deposit the outstanding dues of Rs635 million against them in order that this amount should be utilized in the development sector.

Members of parliament and Balochistan assembly presented their demands and recommendations related to their respective constituencies and stressed to accelerate the pace of work so that people should benefit.