About 250 to be operational by end 2016
Executed through community based local institutional mechanism, about 250 micro-level hydro projects will become fully operational and start providing electricity to some 24,000 people in hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the end of 2016.
This was disclosed by heads of various non-governmental organizations working on the construction of hydro projects while addressing a joint press conference at Peshawar Press Club.
Contractors headed by Fazal Rabbi, chief executive officer of Hydrolink Engineering and Equipment Company (Pvt) limited sharing work experience with communities, said that people living in the remote localities of in Chitral, Dir and Batgram districts had highly welcomed launching of the micro-level hydro projects as they did not have power supply since independence of the country.
Appreciating the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Rabbi said that the hydro projects would help tap the water potential and enable people to get electricity on low cost to increase their income. Besides the people reduce dependence on imported fuel (kerosene) and would protect their forests.
The hydro projects were more useful for local people as it was low cost from Rs2 to Rs4 per unit decided mutually by the local community.
They were initiated in China and successfully practiced in Switzerland, Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and others with government support. However, in Pakistan, the KP Government has for the first time initiated these MMHPs projects.
The projects are very closely and regularly monitored by PEDO, E&P Department and provincial monitoring and evaluation (M&E) directorate. The quality of work has remained exemplary as compared to the costs. The progress has now been expedited after the removal of the procedural and technical hindrances.
