MM News

MANGLA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday inaugurated the US supported refurbishment and renovation project of Unit 5 and 6 at the Mangla hydel power station which is aimed at enhancing its electricity generation capacity.

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Addressing the ceremony, PM Shehbaz Sharif said the Mangla Dam hydel power project was a testament to cordial relations between Pakistan and the United States. He emphasized the need for further enhancing bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the field of trade and investment.

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PM Shehbaz Sharif said the total cost of this up-gradation project is 483 million dollars, of which 150 million dollars were provided by the US as a grant. He said Pakistan couldn’t afford expensive energy on which annually twenty seven billion rupees are currently being spent. He underlined the need for exploiting the indigenous resources including hydel, solar, air and coal to produce cheap electricity.

The Prime Minister said that his government had prepared a project to generate ten thousand megawatts of electricity through solar energy. He said a power project 1320 megawatt has also been initiated at Thar to use the indigenous coal for electricity production.

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Speaking on this occasion, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome said Mangla Dam is a great symbol of Pakistan-US cooperation.

The ambassador said the rehabilitation work at Mangla Dam will increase electricity output to meet electricity needs of additional two million people and it will also ensure that the dam’s power stations remain productive for the several years.