Peshawer: The 17th board meeting of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hydel Development Fund (HDF) was held here on Wednesday with the caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan in the chair. Caretaker Provincial Minister for Finance, Ahmed Rasool Bangash, Advisor to CM on Energy and Power, Dr. Sarfaraz Ali Shah, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Additional Chief Secretary Zubair Asghar Qureshi, administrative secretaries of the concerned departments and other board members attended the meeting.
Besides reviewing progress on the decisions of the last board meeting, the forum accorded conditional approval to the proposed funding for hydel development projects for the fiscal year 2023-24.
The Chief Minister on this occasion, directed the quarters concerned to take necessary steps in order to operationalize the province’s own Transmission and Grid Company adding that appointment of the chief executive officer of the company be ensured as early as possible for the purpose. He termed the establishment of Provincial government’s own Transmission and Grid Company as a good move to improve the power supply system in the province and said that its operationalization will substantially reduce the province’s dependence on WAPDA infrastructure.
Azam Khan further directed for necessary steps to immediately make the newly completed hydro power projects functional, and added that a feasible strategy in consultation with all the relevant stakeholders be devised for the purpose. He remarked that public money had been spent on these projects, and their benefits should reach the public without any delay adding that these hydro power stations, once operationalized, will not only help a great deal to reduce the energy crisis but will also increase the provincial revenues. He also directed the relevant authorities to ensure the completion of all ongoing hydro power projects within the stipulated time lines.