Author: Admin

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the swift completion of a 100-megawatt solar power project in Gilgit-Baltistan within one year, vowing to personally monitor its progress. The directive came during a high-level review meeting, following ECNEC’s recent approval of the long-awaited scheme. Calling it a “national priority,” the prime minister said the project will deliver uninterrupted, low-cost, and eco-friendly electricity to a region suffering up to 20-hour daily outages. Under the plan, 20 solar parks will be set up — six in Gilgit, eight in Skardu, and six in…

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ISLAMABAD: The government is weighing an amicable settlement in its long-running dispute with M/s Star Hydro Power Limited (SHPL) to avoid a potentially costly and diplomatically sensitive breach of contract claim under a World Bank guarantee, according to sources in the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB). The 147MW run-of-the-river project on the Kunhar River, operating under a 30-year BOOT model, is backed by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) against political risk for South Korean investor KDS Hydro Pte. Ltd. The conflict stems from the National Transmission and Despatch…

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ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday expressed alarm over government data showing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have incurred losses nearing Rs6 trillion, vowing to privatise eight entities within the year as part of broader reforms. Speaking in the Senate on a calling attention notice, Aurangzeb said the Biannual Performance Report from the Finance Division revealed SOE losses of Rs5.89 trillion in the first half of FY2024-25. “This is alarming indeed,” he said, noting that last year’s national revenue stood at Rs12 trillion — meaning nearly half was wiped out by…

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LONDON: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has raised its global oil demand forecast for 2026 while lowering its projection for supply growth from the United States and other non-OPEC+ producers, pointing to a potentially tighter market. In its latest monthly report, OPEC said it now expects world oil demand to rise by 1.38 million barrels per day (bpd) next year — an upward revision of 100,000 bpd from its previous estimate — while leaving its 2025 demand outlook unchanged. The group also slightly upgraded its forecast for…

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