PESHAWAR, March 26: The NWFP government on Monday unveiled a new hydel policy which is aimed at attracting investments in power generation projects by involving the private sector.
The NWFP Hydel Power Policy-2006, which is said to be a continuation of an earlier policy announced at the first NWFP Investment Conference in 2005, offers incentives to private investors intending to set up hydroelectricity projects of up to 50 megawatt capacity at various sites in the province.
Some salient features of the new policy were discussed at a seminar entitled “Private sector facilitation in hydel potential development in the NWFP”, which was organised by the Irrigation and Power Department here on Monday.
Under the policy, the Sarhad Hydel Development Organisation (Shydo) will provide a one-window facility to private investors in this connection. In the Hydel Power Policy 2005, the authorised capacity of the project was 20 megawatts.
Similarly, the provincial government has waived three different types of fees up to September 2008 as a gesture of goodwill and to encourage the private sector investment in the province. These include the registration fee of $100, pre-qualification fee of $500 and purchase of RFP fee of $1500.
Likewise, now sites above one megawatt will be leased on the basis of the highest bid on the base-lease price of Rs1000 per annum through competitive bidding.
All Hydel power plants of up to 50 megawatt will be allowed to be installed on Built-Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis for a period of 50 years as well as performance of all federal entities, including power purchasers, will be covered under a sovereign guarantee of the federal government.
The period for construction for hydel project of up to one megawatt has been increased from two years to three years under the new policy besides making the lease money to Shydo payable at the commissioning of the project and yearly thereafter.
A steering committee headed by secretary of irrigation and power has been constituted under the new policy to address issues being faced by the private sector investors in executing different hydel projects in the province.
Speaking at the seminar, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani lamented that hydropower generation was a potentially the money-generating sector for the cash-strapped Frontier province but no serious effort had been made by any government during the past 55 years to tap this resource to make the poor province financially strong and sound and to generate economic activities in the area.
He claimed that after taking over the government, the MMA leadership had taken certain steps to exploit this potential area to rid the province of deep-rooted poverty and backwardness and to pave the way for massive economic activities and development in the area.
Mr Durrani said that the second hydel policy was a clear proof of the provincial government’s sincerity in the development of the province.
He asked the private sector to come forward and take advantage of incentives offered in the new policy.
He held out an assurance that at the provincial level no red-tape or procedural delay would hinder any project at any stage.
Mr Durrani conceded that better law and order was a prerequisite for a better investment climate, claiming that the law and order situation in the NWFP situation was “quiet normal.”
“It is very strange that the people living in other parts of the country do not know the distance between Waziristan and Peshawar. The law and order situation in settled areas of the province is very much under control and there is no threat to private investment in any part of the NWFP,” Mr Durrani asserted.
Chief Secretary Riaz Noor, Secretary Irrigation and Power Department Khalid Hussain Gillani and Managing Director of Private Power Investment Board (PPIB) Khalid Rehman also addressed the seminar.