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On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif officially opened the Mangla dam’s units 5 and 6, which are undergoing renovations to increase their ability to produce energy.
The initiative, according to the prime minister, is a “great example” of Pakistan and the United States working together. According to him, the upgrade project would cost a total of $483 million, of which $150 million will come from a grant from the US.
The prime minister emphasized the need of significantly strengthening Islamabad and Washington’s bilateral economic and investment relations. In reference to the economic benefits of the Mangla Dam, PM Shehbaz remarked, “Pakistan cannot afford expensive electricity, on which Rs27 billion are now being spent yearly.”
He emphasized the need of utilizing local resources, such as coal, hydel, solar, and the sun, to provide affordable power. Shehbaz said that the current administration has established a plan to produce 10,000 megawatts of electricity using solar energy and that a 1,320-megawatt power plant has also been launched in Thar to produce electricity using local coal.
The nation’s untapped hydel power potential of 60,000 megawatts was lamented by the premier.
He claimed that further projects, such as Diamer Basha and Dasu, had been begun in addition to the enlargement of the Mangla and Tarbela Dams. The country would not have experienced the same level of devastation from the recent floods and its need on imported gasoline would have been minimal, the prime minister said, if these hydroelectric projects had been finished earlier.
PM Shehbaz emphasized the significance of unity once more in order to serve the nation and lead it through all difficulties. Mangla Dam is “a tremendous emblem of Pakistan-US collaboration,” according to statements made on the occasion by US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome.
