Sahiwal power project to eliminate loadshedding: CM

CM welcomes freight train 

Says mega projects being carried out under PM’s leadership; thanks army chief for providing support to CPEC projects; those looted national money now demanding eradication of corruption

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday welcomed the freight train transporting the first consignment of coal from Karachi to the Sahiwal Coal Power Project. 

Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Punjab Ministers Ch Shair Ali, Malik Nadeem Kamran, Chinese Consul General Long Dung Bin, parliamentarians, Chinese engineers and workers were present on the occasion.. 

Addressing the ceremony, the CM said today is a historical moment when 12,000 tons of coal has arrived at Qadirabad for the Sahiwal Coal Power Project. He said this is the giant step towards the realisation of the dream of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to eliminate shadows of loadshedding from the country.

He said the Sahiwal coal power project is part CPEC and under the leadership of the PM, mega projects are being carried out from valleys of Mehran to rocks and snow-covered mountains of Balochistan and KP and fertile lands of Punjab, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

He said China is making investment amounting to 52 billion dollars which reflects confidence in the leadership of PM Nawaz Sharif. He said China does not have resources of oil and gas nor does currency grows on trees in China; rather this is the hard earned money of Chinese people which they have large-heartedly given to 200 million people of Pakistan for their progress and prosperity.

He said self-reliance and prosperity is the dream of Nawaz Sharif, which is being realized with the support of China. Shahbaz Sharif said he is thankful to the Chinese president, prime minister, and companies supporting Pakistan to realise this dream.

He said he is also thankful to the Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa for providing all-out support for CPEC projects.

The CM said our political opponents, who can be more precisely called opponents of prosperity and development, constantly accuse that the government has taken huge loans, but he wants to make it clear for them that these are not loans, but 100 percent investment by China which will always stay here.

He said investors will make investment in the energy sector to produce electricity for the nation and earn profit. He called it the best model to rid the country of the quagmire of loadshedding and the credit for this sagacious model totally goes to the prime minister. He said all projects under CPEC are being completed on the fast-track and transparently.

He said 3,600-MW gas power projects in Jhang, Sheikhupura, and Baloki will be completed during the current year and a saving of Rs112 billion has been made in these projects. He said these facts are being presented for political opponents who level baseless allegations of corruption against Nawaz Sharif.

He said does a corrupt leader save billions of rupees of the nation as Nawaz Sharif has saved national resources? He said a corrupt leader does not save billions of rupees of the nation and ensure transparency in mega projects.

Shahbaz Sharif said this project will be completed by May or June and it will break the world record because any 1,320-MW project has not been completed in such a short time in the world.

He said resources of Pakistan have been mercilessly looted and plundered in the past, but the looters of national resources now demand eradication of corruption. He said on the other hand, there are those who deliver lectures on corruption day and night.

The CM said the Sahiwal coal power project is being completed in a record short time and even China cannot complete a project of such huge capacity in such a short period. He said the Sahiwal coal power project will break records of projects completed at fast track from America to Zambia. He said the Neelum Jhelum power project was started in 2002 and it has not been completed so far despite the passage of 16 years and its cost has increased from 800 million dollars to five billion dollars. He said the increase in the cost of this project was due to inordinate delay and three projects like the Sahiwal coal project can be completed. He said in the same way, the machinery imported for the Nandipur project had rusted for four years at Karachi Port. He said the Guddu power project was completed in five years while gas power projects of 3,600MW are being completed in 27 months. He said he was thankful to Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, federal secretaries and the team of Punjab govt working on this project at fast-track.

Addressing the ceremony, Railways Minister Kh Saad Rafique said the CM is materialising dreams of the nation and he has reposed confidence in the Pakistan Railways.  The Chinese consul general said the Sahiwal Coal Power Project will enhance cooperation between Pakistan and China and they had covered a milestone.

The CEO of the Sahiwal coal project, Soang Taji, said the CM has extended unprecedented cooperation for this project, which is being completed at fast track due to the dynamic leadership of Shahbaz Sharif.