ISLAMABAD: Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan has said that the government is targeting to provide sustainable, affordable and reliable power to the consumers by producing seventy five to eighty percent power from indigenous resources.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Energy Week organized by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) here on Monday.
He said the government has formulated a renewable energy policy under which the share of alternative sources of energy will be increased to twenty percent by 2025 and thirty percent by 2030.
Omar Ayub Khan pointed out the energy sector of Pakistan offers investment opportunities of one hundred billion dollars including forty five billion dollars in power generation, twenty billion dollars in transmission and fifteen to twenty billion dollars in distribution.
He said Pakistan is a large market for all the industries of the world to come and invest in. He said Pakistan is an open market with high rates of return. We are also removing barriers of entry.
He expressed satisfaction that several companies are evincing interest in relocating their manufacturing facilities of producing wind turbines and solar panels to Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said despite the challenge posed by coronavirus, China is determined to take forward the multi billion dollars China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. He said the projects under the CPEC will not be affected by this temporary challenge.
He said the next stage of the CPEC will focus cooperation in diverse sectors including industrial, agriculture, science and technology and renewable energy and hydro power. He was confident that this will give a new momentum to the future development of Pakistan’s economy.
Appreciating the structural reforms being introduced by the present government, he said under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the energy sector of Pakistan is undergoing transformation which is focused on providing affordable and reliable energy.
He assured that the Chinese government and investors will fully cooperate with Pakistan in this endeavor.