PM Shehbaz calls for fast-tack solarization of federal govt’s buildings

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has asserted that the government had devised a plan to immediately convert all the federal government entities’ buildings on solar power by April next year to slash a huge chunk out of the country’s costly fuel import bill hovering around $27 billion, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Addressing a solarization conference, the prime minister said that the procedures for conversion of solar power should be fast-tracked as they had set April 2023 as the timeline for the implementation of this plan.

PM Shehbaz noted that under the plan, all the federal government ministries, departments, authorities and their offshoots in the provinces would immediately shift on solar energy.

He said it would be a model for the rest of the provincial governments as the federal government would not make additional expenditures over the solarization process.

The prime minister also urged all the relevant authorities and the stakeholders to complete the required process by the end of April next year and meet the timeline which had been set. “Consider it as our political, social, national and religious duty to implement it as soon as possible,” he opined.

PM Shehbaz further said with these urgent measures, they would be able to generate 300 MW to 500MW of cheap power, thus reducing the import bill worth billions of dollars each year.

The prime minister assured that the whole process would be conducted through transparent bidding via a third party.

He also urged the provincial chief ministers to emulate the federal government’s launched pattern and introduce solar systems in their respective provinces and assured the federal government’s complete assistance in this regard. “It is the only option of our survival as a nation,” he added.

The premier added that the process for the generation of 10,000MW solar power in the country had already commenced and such a conversation by the federal government buildings would be the first phase.

Enumerating the economic challenges faced by the country due to skyrocketing fuel and gas prices after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said that developing countries like Pakistan had to bear the brunt.

He said $27 billion costly fuel import bill was a big challenge for the countries like Pakistan, adding the ongoing conflict had also surged prices of gas and worsened its availability as the supply to Europe was disrupted.

PM Shehbaz said during the Covid pandemic, the prices of gas were crashed to the lowest and it was sold at $2 per unit, the then government committed a criminal negligence by not securing its import and due to it, now the whole nation had been suffering.

He said during former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, a 15-year agreement for the purchase of gas at rate of $13.2 per unit was reached with Qatar, but unfortunately, it was politicized by the subsequent government.

Now due to the global situation, gas was not available while the fuel was being sold at an exorbitant price in the global market, he said, adding that they would have to convert to solar and renewable energy with lightning speed.

The prime minister said during the previous PML-N government, efforts were made for the production of cheap hydel electricity and land worth Rs100 billion was acquired for the construction of Bhasha dam, but those were long-term measures to generate affordable power in the country.

He said under China Pakistan Economic Corridor, coal and gas-fired projects were completed by the PML-N government during 2015 to overcome 20 hours crippling power outages in the country.