Kashgar-Gwadar Project a Game Changer for Region Says PM

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday asked a prominent Chinese company to provide suggestions and assistance in curbing power line losses, theft and pilferage in Pakistan. The Prime Minister who arrived here this morning during the third phase of his five-day official visit, held a meeting with the president of China Southern Power Grid (CSG) Zhao Jianguo.

Sharif told him that they were working on building power plants based upon coal, solar and wind resources, adding that Pakistan was blessed with abundant water resources and coal reservoirs to generate energy. Jianguo agreeing with the request said that proper management and supervision coupled with application of stringent laws could help reduce this menace.

To a question posed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, he said that in China, the line losses had been slashed down from six per cent to one per cent. Regarding the Pak-China economic corridor, the Prime Minister said that both the countries attached high importance to its execution, adding, “this is the biggest project which starts from Gwadar to Kashgar.”

Sharif pointed out that the corridor would be highly beneficial not only for Pakistan and China but also for the whole region and for the three billion people inhabiting it. The Prime Minister said that they were working on this project as this would be “a game changer” for them as far as the whole region was concerned.

Sharif further informed Jianguo that Pakistan was facing an acute shortage of power, and energy was one of their main problems, but still they were determined to get it resolved as soon as possible. They had inherited this problem as the previous government did not pay much attention in this area, he said, adding, that to overcome the issue, they had taken a number of steps. He said that he had also discussed energy and other projects during his meetings with the Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

The CSG is ranked 150 among a conglomerate of 500 Fortune companies. It also provides electricity to 33 million people and generates 1 million MW of power.