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Donors pledge $328m for Neelum-Jhelum project
Khalid Butt
Lahore—The international donors have pledged an initial financial
assistance amounting to US $ 328 million for construction of 969 MW
Neelum-Jehlum hydroelectric Project.
This announcement was made in a meeting attended by the delegates of
Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait Fund
for Development and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.
Islamic Development Bank representative Farrukh Muhammad said that
the financial assistance is meant for the first three lots of the
contract of Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project. Terming the project
an important one, he assured that more funding would be made
available as the project proceeds further.
Speaking on the occasion, WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani said that
Neelum-Jhelum is an environment friendly project with 26% Economic
Internal Rate of Returns (EIRR). He said that the project would help
increase hydel ratio in the overall power generation by contributing
more than 5 billion cheap electricity units annually to the national
grid.
The Chairman expected that the project would be completed ahead of
schedule, as a bonus clause pertaining to early completion of the
project has been introduced in the contract. The government is
utilizing all available resources to overcome the shortage of the
power in the country.—APP
