A World Bank delegation led by Vice President for South Asia, Hartwig Schfer called on Federal Minister for Energy, Muhammad Hammad Azhar here on Wednesday.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum, Tabish Gauhar, Secretaries of Power and Petroleum Divisions, Pakistan Executive Director at World Bank, Naveed Kamran Baloch, Country Director Pakistan, Najy Benhssine and other senior officials attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the matters related to World Bank funded ongoing projects in the energy sector were discussed.
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The minister informed the delegation that due to effective measures by the government, the growth in circular debt was being curtailed to a considerable amount.
He said that during the last fiscal year i.e 2020-21, Rs 130 billion was added in the circular debt registering a decline of Rs 408 billion in the circular debt flow as compared to previous year.
Hammad informed the delegation that this summer around 20% increase in peak demand for electricity had been registered which was a good omen for the energy sector and the economy.
A World Bank delegation led by Vice President for South Asia, Hartwig Schfer called on Federal Minister for Energy @Hammad_Azhar today.
Matters related to World Bank funded ongoing projects in the energy sector were also discussed during the meeting. pic.twitter.com/2IkCdOCbHK
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 4, 2021
The minister informed the delegation that Power Division had planned addition of considerable capacity in the existing transmission network by the end of the current fiscal year for which funds had also been allocated.
He underscored the importance of World Bank assistance in expansion and modernization of Pakistan’s Electricity Transmission System.
The Vice President World Bank while acknowledging efforts by the Energy Ministry in slowing the growth of circular debt, renewed the commitment of World Bank to continue working with government in the Energy Sector.
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He said that Pakistan had the potential of achieving growth rate of 6% to 7%. He also stressed upon closer working between the experts group of Ministry of Energy and World Bank for achievement of targets.
Courtesy: APP