It is time to get rid of oil cartels as fuel import bill hits $27 billion: PM Shehbaz:
It is time to get rid of oil cartels as fuel import bill hits $27 billion: PM Shehbaz:
ISLAMABAD: It is high time to get rid of oil cartels as the country’s fuel imports have increased to $27 billion this year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated this today while addressing the Mangla Dam refurbishment of Units 5-6 ceremony which would enhance the power generation capacity of the dam.
Premier today inaugurated the refurbishment project of Units 5 and 6 of Mangla Dam which will boost its electricity generation capacity.
The Mangla Dam refurbishment was a magnificent example of Pakistan-US bilateral cooperation as the US has offered $150 million for the projects to be completed at a total cost of $483 million, he added.
PM Shehbaz pointed out that if the lobbies had not created bottlenecks in the way of the installation of clean energy projects in Pakistan over the years, a mammoth increase in fuel imports could have not been possible.
PM Shehbaz said that since independence, only 10,000 Megawatts (MWs) of electricity was being created from hydropower projects.
However, the world has promoted the installation and usage of clean energy much more than Pakistan.
Diamer Basha Dam and Dasu Dam were also under-construction and after completion, the generation of clean energy would increase.
He, however, did not point out why the government was charging up to Rs 30 per unit from the consumers against the production cost of Rs4 per unit of electricity generated from hydel project.
PM Shehbaz also did not mention how the government would get rid of oil cartels to meet domestic energy consumption demand which was growing with the passage of time.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
