F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: The PMLN Govt has been praised for fulfilling yet another promise by constructing the long-awaited 108MW Golen Gol Hydropower Power project with Rs3.7billion benefits per annum, would immensely help provide inexpensive electricity to people besides bolstering trade and business activities in KP in general and Chitral in particular.
The completion of the gigantic project was landmark step forward to make Pakistan’s self sufficient in energy besides providing uninterrupted electricity to people of Chitral. Political and economic experts besides people of Chitral have highly lauded PMLN Government for honouring yet another promise by constructing the long awaited Chitral Gol hydropower project which has started electricity generation on Wednesday.
Sardar Aurganzaib Nalota, PMLN KP Parliamentary leader told APP following successful completion of the decades old mega Lowari Tunnel project that are providing all weather travelling facilities to people of Chitral, Golen Gol project was another gift of PMLN Government for people of Chitral. When PMLN Govt took over in 2013, he said, 18 to 20 hours load shedding was a routine problem that had made life of people miserable besides marred industrial and business growth.
“The opponents made fun when PMLN leadership had announced to end load shedding in five years and political orphans are now hiding face from people after all promises made by PMLN leadership was successfully completed,” he said. “The mass protests and agitation on roads and siege of PESCO offices that was a routine matter against massive load shedding in 2012-13 due to lackluster policies of past regimes, will see no more demonstrations in future as additional energy are being added to the national grid after completion of the ongoing mega energy projects in the country.”
Criticizing the previous governments for pushing the country into darkness of load shedding, he said the past successive governments was completely failed to address the grave problem of energy shortfall resulted in unemployment and inflation. The starting of power generation from first unit of Golen Goal Project was a significant step forward to make Pakistan energy self sufficient, he said adding this project will provide affordable energy to the people of Chitral besides significantly contribute to agricultural, industrial, commercial and socio-economic development.
The installed generation capacity of the Golen Gol project is 108 MW with three generating units having a capacity of 36MW each. The first unit has been completed while the second and the third unit will be commissioned in March and May 2018 respectively. The project will provide 436 million units of electricity to the national grid every year with about Rs3.7billion benefits per annum. Economics Expert Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem said uninterrupted energy supply at affordable rate was major requirement for successful growth of industrial and business sectors and Golen Gol project constructed on a tributary river of Mastunj in Chitral was a leap forward towards economic prosperity.
“The project would also help the small industries to grow and increase their production, besides ending monopoly of large industrial units.” He said “electricity and industrial growth was directly linked and the pressing problem of unemployment and inflation could only be addressed by encouraging industrial and business sectors in the country.”
Professor Naeem expressed the hope that Golen Gol project will usher in a new era of progress and prosperity in Chitral, besides stabilizing the economy by providing low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to people of Pakistan. They congratulated the nation on completion of the Golen Gol project and termed it a gift by PML-N government for energy-starved people and industry of Chitral.
