ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)Khalid Mansoor has said that all power generation projects are in line with the country’s growing needs and the government was now focused on providing electricity to the Special Economic Zones.
“Power generation projects are not over and above the national requirements,” he said, rejecting the narrative propagated to be the major cause of circular debt trap and capacity payment issues.
Mansoor said all the projects were set up in line with the NEPRA policy.
Rejecting the allegations of corruption in the power projects, the SAPM on CPEC said the Chinese side, as well as the IPPs, strongly protested when the government raised the specter of massive corruption and kickbacks in the power projects, which disturbed them and sought an explanation for the unfounded allegations being raised in the media.
Mansoor said as president of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry comprising 192 MNCs, he would ask them why they were not investing any further in the country. They would say every time due to massive load-shedding and power crisis, any further investment and production increase is not possible. He said as a rule of thumb, globally 30-35% surplus power is a critical prerequisite to ensure sustainable and uninterrupted power supply.
We are persuading the Chinese in particular and other investors in general to utilize the huge incentives, including fiscal ones being offered in the SEZs so as to turn the country into a huge industrial hub.
To a question about the ties between the countries, the SAPM dismissed the impression of any souring of relations between Islamabad and Beijing, and said, “I have cordial relationships with all those working on CPEC from the Chinese side, and also regularly meet the Chinese ambassador too.”
