ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed authorities concerned to restore the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project at the earliest.
He was chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad, to review progress on the rehabilitation work of the project.
The Prime Minister was informed that the closure of 3.5 km long Tailrace Water Tunnel affected power generation from the powerhouse, which caused hurdle in supplying 969 megawatts of electricity in the national grid.
Taking stern notice of the incident, he directed the relevant authorities to immediately inquire into the incident with the help of authorized international bodies and complete the restoration work of the plant as soon as possible.
The Prime Minister said that we are bringing in an effective mechanism of pre-qualification and third party monitoring and evaluation of companies to ensure transparency and quality in development works.
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Minister for Power Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Advisor to Prime Minister Ahad Cheema, PML-N MNA Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and concerned officials attended the meeting.
“Neelum-Jhelum is unfortunately offline. Details of its suspension or fault have not been concluded yet,” Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan confirmed at a presser, last week, adding that thorough investigations were currently under way of all its channels, which are deep and long, some of them under huge mountains.
