Implementation of foreign-funded power projects to be expedited

ISLAMABAD- A high level meeting on Thursday decided to expedite the implementation of foreign-funded power projects, which were moving at a snail’s pace.

A meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Foreign-Funded Projects (NCCFFP) has noted that majority of the foreign-funded power projects are moving at a snail’s pace, which is resulting in non-disbursement of committed international funds despite payment of commitment charges. The meeting has decided to expedite implementation of the energy sector projects which are imperative for sustainable economic growth of the country. 

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar and Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Energy, co-chaired the meeting of NCC-FFP on energy sector at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Islamabad. Noor Ahmed, Secretary Economic Affairs Division, representatives of PM’s Office, Finance Division Provincial Departments and heads of the line departments also attended the meeting. 

In this follow-up meeting, the NCC-FFP reviewed the compliance status of forum’s decisions made in light of previous meeting held on 5th November, 2020. It was informed that 14 foreign-funded projects including power generation, transmission and distribution amounting to US$ 3,418 million with the support of development partners including Asian Development Bank, World Bank Islamic Development Bank are under implementation. 

An official of the EAD informed that meeting has once again expressed concerns over the slow pace of foreign funded projects. International donors are not releasing funds for the power projects due to slower progress. The donors had not released $3.03 billion out of total committed $3.42 billion due to the snail’s pace. 

It is worth mentioning here that Prime Minister Imran Khan had constituted the high-level NCCFFP in order to fast track the disbursement and implementation of external economic assistance as the lending agencies wanted sector-wise meetings with prime minister due to consistent delays. PM Khan had assigned the Ministry of Economic Affairs to convene the meetings of this committee and submit a progress report to him on monthly basis.

Bakhtyar lauded the efforts of Power Division for removal of bottlenecks hampering smooth implementation of foreign-funded projects in energy sector. He further highlighted that the government is focusing on energy sector reforms and energy efficiency through production of renewable clean energy at affordable prices, development of reliable transmission system and improved distribution network. 

Omar Ayub Khan directed the line departments of Power Division to convey course of action along with timelines for prompt redressal of remaining issues and expedite the implementation of energy sector projects. He informed the forum that the Power Division is regularly monitoring the progress of foreign-funded projects. He said that these projects are significant to achieve the strategic objectives including provision of affordable electricity, transmission efficiency and modernization enhancement of distribution system of the country.  Both ministers directed the relevant officials to resolve all the pending issues to expedite the implementation of the projects.

Article source: https://nation.com.pk/26-Feb-2021/implementation-of-foreign-funded-power-projects-to-be-expedited