Category: News & Announcement

Moody’s Investors Service – one of top three global credit rating agencies – has put Pakistan under watch for possible downgrade of its long-term local and foreign credit ratings, suspecting that Islamabad may default on debt repayments to “private sector creditors” due to economic mess under the coronavirus pandemic. “Moody’s has placed the government of Pakistan’s local and foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured B3 rating under review for downgrade,” the US-based rating agency announced on Thursday. “Consistent with Moody’s approach globally, the review period will allow the rating…

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An agreement worth Rs442 billion with a joint venture of Power China and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was signed on Wednesday for the construction of a diversion system, main dam, access bridge and 21-megawatt Tangir hydroelectric power project. In the wake of a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan a couple of days ago on water security and construction of mega dams including the Diamer-Bhasha dam, Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said all efforts were under way to ensure timely mobilisation of the contractor and effective…

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An elementary question, as the Diamer-Basha dam makes headlines this week: Why is Pakistan off to make the world’s tallest Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dam – an unmoving, inflexible, rigid structure of mammoth proportions – in one of the region’s most active earthquake zones? Consider this fact: there are 300 earthquakes on average in a single month at the proposed site of the Diamer-Basha dam. Not just that – the reservoir is to be constructed on top of the Central Asian faultline. The original designers of the dam in 1984,…

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More than 140 world leaders, experts and elders have made an unprecedented call for guarantees that COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics, tests and treatments will be provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere GENEVA, 14 MAY 2020—More than 140 world leaders and experts, including the President of South Africa and Chair of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall and the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have signed an open letter calling on all…

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In China’s latest efforts to pit renewable energy against fossil fuels, it is again betting on size.Resources such as wind and solar don’t stand much of a chance if there isn’t a way to store energy when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. So some of China’s biggest state-owned companies are pouring in billions of dollars to build massive projects that will combine the two with energy storage. The periodic nature of renewables is a challenge because it disrupts the conventional methods for planning the daily operation…

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