LAHORE: Leading Pakistani industrialist and Entrepreneur Mian Muhammad Mansha has said that he is considering buying the Neelum-Jhelum Project which is estimated to produce electricity that would cost 14.5 cents per unit.
Speaking at the Workshop on Elections-2013 organised by Media Advocacy Centre (MAC) the business icon said that he was approached by the government to invest in the Neelum-Jhelum Project, after the funds provided by the Asian Development Bank fell short of the required capital.
He said that he declined as he did not consider investing in government projects a wise idea. However, when he was offered the option of buying the whole project, he said that he would consider it and will commence serious discussion on this deal within a couple of months.
Terming power shortage as the biggest issue faced by Pakistan, he said that the country needs to work its way out of it as soon as possible using all means available such as alternate fuels for thermal energy, wind, solar and run-of-the-river hydel projects instead of fighting over construction of massive dams.
Talking about the state of affairs in Pakistan and the direction in which he believed they were moving, he said that the social protection provided by free media and independent judiciary caused a paradigm shift in Pakistan for the better and it needed to progress further.
Talking about the need for stronger role of media in the field of public policy advocacy, he lauded the initiative taken by the Media Advocacy Centre (MAC) Chairman Sikandar Hameed Lodhi.
Earlier, addressing the workshop, Joint Election Commissioner Punjab Khaliq-ur-Rehman said that media should not be biased while reporting adding that discussions in talk shows should not reflect that programme is against one party or the other. Briefing the media about the initiatives taken by election commission Khaliq said that with the support of NADRA this time commission has made voters list without errors.
He also said that voters can see their names in the voters list through SMS. He said that on the instructions of Supreme Court ECP formed teams to monitor elections. He said that election commission will issue passes to both national and international media for election coverage.Former Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan Kunwar Dilshad said that surveys did not reflect the real sentiments and election commission should take notice of such surveys. http://images.thenews.com.pk/12-04-2013/ethenews/t-22225.htm
Be First to Comment