Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government voices strong objections over exclusion
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced its decision to formally protest the removal of two key hydropower projects from the federal energy plan.
In a letter addressed to Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari, Special Assistant to the KP Chief Minister on Energy and Power, Tariq Sadozai, expressed serious concerns over the exclusion of the 88-megawatt Gabral-Kalam and 157-megawatt Madyan hydropower projects from the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP).
“The federal government’s decision amounts to victimization of the province,” the letter stated.
Sadozai noted that both projects were part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hydropower and Renewable Energy Programme and were scheduled for completion by 2027 with financial support from the World Bank. He emphasized that their inclusion had previously been approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), the Council of Common Interests (CCI), and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
Terming the removal of these projects by the system operator as “unconstitutional,” the letter underlined that it undermines KP’s development rights under the federal structure.
Sadozai also pointed out that under federal oversight, major projects like Mohmand Dam, Dasu Dam, and Tarbela 5th Extension have been given priority, while KP’s projects have been sidelined.
He demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Gabral-Kalam and Madyan projects in the national energy plan and called for assurance that they be completed without further political interference.
