PM: The construction of 10 dams will guarantee the country’s food security.

Zeba Khowaja

Prime Minister Imran Khan has confirmed that the PTI government is building ten dams and hydropower projects. These dams began in 2018 and will expect to be completed by 2028. The construction of 10 dams will guarantee the country’s food security. Moreover, it makes the 8 million acres of land cultivable in the country and also generates cheaper electricity

On the occasion of his visit to Mohmand district of Khyber-(K-P) Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday to oversee the progress on the construction of the Mohmand Dam, he expressed disappointment that “no dams built in Pakistan after the decade of 1960s or over the last 50 years”.

The premier said that contrary to China that had constructed 80,000 dams which includes 5,000 big dams. Pakistan had only two big dams.

<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=”true”>clean and green Pakistan </span></h2>

Premier Imran mentioned that ten dams, including Bhasha and Dasu will be built under the vision of clean and green Pakistan. Additionally, it is a game-changer in response to climate change.

The construction of 10 dams will guarantee the country’s food security,” Prime Minister Imran said, citing the increasing population.

“Despite bumper wheat crop this year, the country will have to import the commodity to fulfill its demand,” he added.

He further said that dams and water reservoirs were also essential to satisfy the demand for safe drinking water in major cities and urban areas such as Lahore and Peshawar.

The prime minister said that the building of a lake in Ravi City Lahore intended to provide clean water to the people of the state, referring to the tanker mafia in Karachi, which is making billions of rupees.

“The construction of Peshawar’s Mohmand Dam will get 300 million gallons of water,” he added.

In response to a query, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that previous rulers chose the simple route of negotiating costly power generation contracts with independent power producers (IPPs) and profiting from “commissions and kickbacks.”

Instead of using Pakistan’s hydropower capacity of generating 50,000 megawatts of cheaper electricity. Also, He expressed regret that “they went for costly power generation deals with IPPs,” a big source of circular debt.

He also mentioned the “energy payment clause of IPP agreements,” which required the government to compensate private power generation companies. Regardless of whether the electricity they produced used. However, energy used or not, as one of the main causes of the growing circular debt.”

According to him, the circular debt in the power sector has increased from Rs480 billion in 2018 to Rs900 billion now. Furthermore, it would cross Rs1,455 billion in 2023.

However, the prime minister stated that the current administration is attempting to renegotiate arrangements with IPPs.

In response to a question about tourism promotion, he said that with the current third wave of Covid-19, the government has been attempting to keep the wheels of the economy turning. Also, the government is struggling hard to save the people from economic problems.

Also, they agreed to establish restaurants, huts, and hotels with the cooperation of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.

They said that the irrigation department’s resthouse should be converted into a restaurant and huts. These built alongside the bank of the lake so that people could arrange parties under shelter with families.

The prime minister encouraged people to pledge to adopt coronavirus SOPs, such as wearing face masks. The prime purpose is to shield themselves and the country from the economic consequences of the deadly virus.

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