NA panel clears CPEC Authority Bill 2020 despite opposition

A parliamentary committee cleared “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Bill 2020” with a majority vote despite resistance from the opposition, The News reported on Wednesday. During the NA Standing Committee on Planning and Development, chaired by Junaid Akbar, former minister Ahsan Iqbal presented seven reasons against the creation of CPEC authority. A heated debate ensued but the bill was cleared with a majority. In his dissenting note, Iqbal said the creation of CPEC authority is superfluous and unnecessary. He added that the planning minister discharged the role diligently and effectively in…

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Joint Press Statement By Pak-Russia Technical Committee On North South Gas Pipeline

Islamabad, November 18, 2020: The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) of Pakistan and Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation held first Russia-Pakistan Technical Committee meeting from 16th to 18th November 2020 in Islamabad on mutual cooperation for the development of North South Gas Pipeline Project. The project is a flagship strategic venture between the institutions of Pakistan and Russia which shall strengthen the long term bilateral ties between Pakistan and Russian Federation through people-to-people contact. The Project will begin a new era of economic cooperation between Pakistan and Russian…

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Powering Pakistan from the heart of the desert

Pakistan aims to ensure energy independence by leveraging its own natural resources. Hitachi ABB Power Grids will provide 550-kilovolt (kV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) to power generation equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric. The Thar Block-1 project comprises two power plants with the capacity to generate 1,320 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid. Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ high-voltage compact metal encapsulated GIS offers outstanding reliability and operational safety in challenging climatic conditions. The GIS is an important component of a major energy project as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),…

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Purchasing power

The issue of power purchase, and when it is made, has come up before. Recently, PSO said that it bought additional furnace oil to meet a shortfall by K-Electric in Karachi, so that the people of Karachi would not suffer. The question, however, is why furnace oil was bought when a few months before in August and September, LNG was available at far lower costs. Purchasing it at that point and using it in the future could have saved the country millions of rupees. The Ministry of Energy has denied…

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Vision for an energy secure Punjab

Energy is an essential ingredient of socio-economic development and economic growth. Over the past two years the PTI government which came to power on the promise of increasing economic development has made large strides in ensuring an enhanced supply of commercial energy. Currently Pakistan produces a total of 33,961 MW of energy. Over half of Pakistan’s generation capacity is met by Punjab which is responsible for producing 16,322 MW and consumes 70% of all electricity produced within the country. Punjab’s current electricity consumption lies around 16,915 MW and is projected…

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