Accord for mini-hydropower plants in Chitral

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: United Nations Global Environment Facility (GEF) on Thursday signed a project document with Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) and Economic Affairs Division (EAD) for the implementation of a $19.2 million plan for setting up mini-hydel power plants in the Chitral district.

The agreement for the project titled ‘Productive Uses of Renewable Energy in Chitral district (PURE-Chitral)’ was signed by Mikiko Tanaka, Deputy Country Director UNDP, Arif Alauddin, CEO AEDB and Muhammad Asif, Joint Secretary (UN/China) for EAD. Federal Minister of Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf witnessed the signing ceremony, a press release stated.

Under the project, 103 micro/mini-hydropower plants (MHPs) would be installed with a total capacity of 15 megawatts.

Ashraf said, “Rural electrification has always been a central objective for power sector reforms in Pakistan and about 130,000 villages will be supplied power by decentralised options, of which mini and micro hydropower (MHP) can provide sufficient capacity to provide power for social and productive uses to initiate rural economic development.”

Tanaka said, “In partnership with AKRSP, PPAF and AEDB, we are hopeful that the planned activities would lead to the promotion of clean and manageable energy resources, thereby demonstrating climate change mitigation through local actions. Furthermore this project fits in the framework of UN joint programme on environment which has targeted interventions on access to sustainable energy sources.”

The objective of the project is to harness the micro/mini-hydel energy resource at selected sites in Chitral district and promote productive use of renewable energy. The project will create new local jobs and sources of income while directly mitigating some 461,465 tons CO2 equivalent in the first seven years and 1,890,868 tons CO2 equivalent over 22 years.

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