The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has estimated to spend Rs 550 billion on water and power projects/schemes during the next financial year, 2017-18, which is approximately 4.34 per cent less than the allocation of Rs 575.6 billion for 2016-17, it was learnt.
Available documents disclosed to Pakistan Today that the government’s spending on water and power projects would be Rs 550 billion during the next financial year. Also, this amount will be spent on the ongoing and new schemes in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for 2017-18. However, the government allocated Rs 575.6 billion for the ongoing as well as new power and water schemes in the PSDP for 2016-17.
According to the detailed breakup for FY 2017-18, allocation for ongoing and more than two hundred new schemes of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) is Rs 246.409 billion, while the total earmarked amount for ongoing hydel power projects is Rs 127.917 billion and the amount for the ongoing and the new schemes is Rs 129.184 billion, besides the allocated Rs 36.336 billion for 75 the ongoing and new water schemes during the fiscal year 2017-18. Similarly, the government has also earmarked Rs 129 million to establish Pakistan Glacier Monitoring Network Upper Indus Basin Area falling within KPK, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
It is also learnt that an allocation of Rs 5.2 billion amount for the transmission of electricity from the Neelum-Jehlum power project and Rs 8 billion for the transmission system in Karachi’s Bin Qasim area has been earmarked for the next federal budget.
Documents also informed that the government has estimated to allocate Rs 29 billion for Diamer-Bhasha dam project, while Rs 53.775 billion for Dasu-Hydro Power Project stage-1(2160 MW) in the next federal budget. Similarly, an amount of Rs 19.573 billion has been estimated to allocate for Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, while the estimated allocation for Tarbela’s fourth extension (1410 MW) is Rs 16.396 billion, the allocation for Jamshoro coal power project is Rs 16.23 billion. Furthermore, an estimated allocation of Rs 39.25 billion for Baloki LNG power plant, Rs 37.18 billion estimated for Bahadur Shah power LNG power plant, while Rs 10 billion is to be allocated for the Thar coal power projects in the upcoming budget.
According to documents, Rs 631.180 million for 425 MW Nandipur Power Project Genco-III, Rs 16.234 billion for installation of 2×600 MW (Net) coal-fired power project Jamshoro, Rs 39.256 billion for 1200 MW RLNG based power plant Balloki, District Kasur, Punjab, Rs 37.184 billion for 1200 MW LNG-based power plant Haveli Bahadur shah, Rs 2.850 billion for construction of 500 KV T/L for the dispersal of power from 747 MW from Guddu, Rs 1.950 billion for evacuation of power from wind power projects at Jhimpir and Gharo wind clusters, Rs 150 million for the inter-connection of Chashma nuclear (C-3 and C-4), Rs 10 million for import of 100 MW electricity from Iran (with 220 KV G/S Gwadar and allied T/L from Iran to Gwadar, and Rs 10 billion for the inter-connection Thar-coal based, 1200 MW(Thar Matiari).
