KARACHI: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Saturday that there was a crisis of gas and electricity shortage in the country when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came to power in 2013 but with focused approach both the problems have now been resolved.

Ever since Pakistan came into being a total of 20,000 MW of electricity generation capacity had been put in place, but during the past four years alone 10,000 MW had been added to the national grid by launching new power projects.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT) at Port Qasim, he said democracy was the only way for achieving real progress provided it was allowed to work and the process continued without interruption.

Abbasi says democracy, if allowed to work, is the only way for achieving real progress

During the last four years the PML-N government, he said, initiated and completed not only a large number of new development projects but also undertook those projects which had been lying unfinished for decades and completed them.

The prime minister said that undoubtedly democracy faced a lot many issues but if it was allowed to progress and the system was permitted to move forward such issues would be overcome in the due course of time.

He said the real strength of democracy was people’s power and let them decide to ensure development and progress in the country where even dictatorships failed to deliver.

Mr Abbasi said in democracies’ challenges were always there and this was not specific to Pakistan. But the system should be allowed to work without interruption for a better future of the people and the country.

He said that this government even took up the Lowari Tunnel project which had been lying incomplete since the late Z.A. Bhutto era and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif released Rs28 billion for its completion.

After constructing the Karachi-Hyderabad highway in 1967 no new project was undertaken but the current government had started Karachi, Sukkur, Multan Motorway which would be completed by next year, he added.

The prime minister said during a recent briefing from the National Highway Authority he was informed that thousands of kilometres of road network, motorways and bridges had been completed.

He said the PML-N government had taken up such mega projects for not seeking votes but to serve the people and develop required infrastructure needed for the progress of the country.

Lauding the efforts of PIBT chairman Capt Haleem Siddiqui, the prime minister said that the dirty cargo terminal had been timely completed because a number of coal-based power plants would be importing coal.

Mr Abbasi said Pakistan Railways would be asked to facilitate transportation of coal to upcountry to meet the need of power plants outside Karachi city. He further said that timely completion of PIBT indicated that the private sector could deliver provided it was allowed to work.

The terminal, he said, had attracted foreign investment of $285 million from such world institutions like the International Finance Corporation and World Bank and this indicated the confidence they had in Pakistan.

The prime minister said after the functioning of another LNG terminal at Port Qasim by the end of this year gas shortage would also come to an end and new industrial, household connections would be allowed. In 2013 there was so much gas shortage that even fertilizer plants were not operating but now all would start getting gas, he added.

Mr Abbasi said like PIBT the LNG terminals along with other supporting infrastructure projects were simultaneously completed with power plants which was a great achievement of this government.

Referring to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, the prime minister said no such huge investment in the past had been made in Pakistan and it even stood more than total investment made in last 70 years.

In response to the PIBT chairman address, Mr Abbasi said the issue of environment for the city of Karachi was very serious and added that it was a provincial subject, but assured to resolve it at the earliest.

Later, the prime minister inaugurated the terminal by opening up its plaque.

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Binzenjo, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, Port Qasim Authority chairman Agha Jan Akhtar and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Zubair Tufail were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017