1,000 MW electricity to be given to Karachi this year: Asad Umar

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar announced on Saturday that the port city will be given 1,000 megawatts of electricity this year, ARY News reported.

“We had promised to provide 900 MW electricity to Karachi. We will 1,000 MW will be Karachi.”

Asad Umar, while addressing an event today, said that the Kashmir dispute could not be neglected at any cost. He clarified that the premier had asked about finding an alternative instead of trading with India.

He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not only being going ahead but expanding as well. The federal minister said that many things are usually being discussed about its western route.

“We are trying to make Green Line [bus rapid transport system] functional in August.” He further said that encroachments were removed from Mehmoodabad while the authorities had been facing issues regarding Mehmoodabad, Orangi and Gujjar nullahs.

Regarding the development plans of Karachi, Umar said that a pipeline will be laid from Karachi port to Pipri on the basis of build–operate–transfer (BOT) and the bidding process of the project was completed. China has made investment for the first industrial zone of CPEC.

He added that Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was given the responsibility for the K-4 project and expressed hopes that the federal government’s projects in Karachi will be completed by the end of this year.

Commenting over the economic progress, Umar said that the country received over $2 billion in remittances consistently for six months after the period of 11 years. He said that those countries making progress in Asia have put maximum focus on exports.