Islamabad: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Monday approved 13 schemes – including the Dasu Hydropower project – worth PKR 335.61 billion, a news source reported. The committee granted the approval in a committee meeting chaired by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Khusro Bakhtyar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, Chairperson Planning and Development Board Sindh Naheed S Durrani, and Adviser to PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain were all present at the occasion.
At the outset of the meeting, the ECNEC approved the revised cost for the land acquisition and built-up property for Dasu Hydropower Project (stage 1), subjected to the opinion of the Ministry of Law after the imposition of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act of 1984. The Law Division was directed to review the matter and offer an opinion in a week’s time, to avoid any unnecessary delays.
The committee also approved the revised project cost, to evacuate 2,160 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Dasu Hydropower Project (stage one) to Islamabad via Mansehra. The revised cost (owing to changes in the exchange rate) now amounts to PKR 90.831 billion with FEC of PKR 79.584 billion.
For the procurement of engineers and construction of Balakot Hydropower Project in Mansehra, an updated cost of PKR 85.912 billion is approved with FEC of PKR 35.049 billion.
Two other power project to gain approval were Combined Power Cycle Power Plant Balloki in District Kasur (1,223 MW Gross), and Combined Power Cycle Power Plant at Haveli Bahadur Shah, District Jhang (1,230 MW Gross). The approval is, however, conditional to the constructional observations of the permitted rate of PKR 5,000 per sqft (declared by NEPRA as an ex-post facto case) for construction of Housing complex and allied facilities.
ECNEC also approved the (PKR 5.812 billion with FEC PKR 2.991 billion) 220-kiloVolts (kV) Head Faqirian Grid Station with 220 kV double Circuit Transmission line for Head Faqirian to Ludewala.
