PESHAWAR
Secretary Energy and Power, Muhammad Zubair Khan, has said that transparency in the financial affairs of energy projects and the merit-based utilization of development funds are among the top priorities of the provincial government.
He directed all officers, especially field staff working on ongoing projects, to keep the department informed about all expenditures and financial matters on a regular basis.
He warned that any corruption or negligence detected in project finances would result in strict action against the responsible officials. Monitoring of all ongoing schemes has been tightened in light of the Chief Secretary’s directives.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting with senior officials of the Energy Department and its attached organizations under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Good Governance Roadmap here on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by Additional Secretary Admin Shoaib Khan, Additional Secretary Power Anwar Khan Sherani, Chief Executive PEDO Engineer Habibullah Shah, Senior Chief Planning Officer Syed Zahir Shah Kazmi and senior officers.
During the briefing, the CEO of PEDO informed that the recently completed Koto Hydropower Project and Jabori Hydropower Project are now in the process of selling electricity under a direct supply model in collaboration with KPEZDMC. For this purpose, PEDO has already appointed an economic expert. These projects are expected to generate billions of rupees in annual revenue for the province.
The meeting was further informed that work is in full swing on 72 projects under the second phase of mini-micro hydel stations. The Secretary of Energy, however, strictly directed the officials to finalize a transparent mechanism for the repayment of foreign-funded loans for these projects.
He also instructed that the institutions keep the department fully informed about the financial matters of the Gabral Kalam and Madian power projects in Swat, which are being implemented with the cooperation of the World Bank. Moreover, the Secretary directed PEDO’s CEO to ensure the timely and quality completion of all energy projects within the given timelines.
