All set to launch first private-sector hydropower project

[LahoreEstate]

Sunday, June 28, 2009
By Sayed Abid Hussain

MIRPUR (AJK): Work on the first private sector 84-megawatt hydroelectric project located 7.5 km downstream of the existing Mangla Dam in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir will start in the next couple of weeks, Khalid Faizi, Chief Executive Laraib Energy said on Saturday.

The local and international financial institutions have given approval to Laraib Energy Limited and Hub Power Company to start the construction on the low head, run-of-the-river power project located some 120 km from Islamabad.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the company confirmed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $37.3 million, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved a matching amount, French Development Agency (FDA) has agreed to provide $26 million and the National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank Limited have approved Rs3.5 billion to jointly fund this project.

Additionally, the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation (IFC) has too agreed to provide $35 million but the final decision is yet to be taken.

The New Bong Escape project, to be completed under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT), is among the first mega projects initiated in the private sector. Besides, for the first time the international lenders are financing a private project in Azad Kashmir.

It is expected that project will be completed in next three years, with an expenditure of around Rs25 billion. While the project will contribute to increased power availability, it will also generate a sizeable number of employment opportunities directly and indirectly.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=185384