SIALKOT, Oct 22: Construction work is under way on a Rs700 million power plant on Upper Chenab Canal near Nandipur, says a Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) official.

The power plant would be completed in three years, and it would meet the energy needs of Gujranwala Division, Gepco Sialkot Superintending Engineer Amanat Ali Bhatti told the media here on Wednesday.

He said the power plant would produce 430 megawatt electricity and enable Gepco to overcome the loadshedding problem. He said it would be a combined cycle gas turbine power plant. He said construction work on new grid stations at Ghueinky, Daska, and Bijli Ghar, Sialkot, was under way and the construction of a 150 megawatt power plant on Marala Ravi Link Canal near Saahowala, Sambrial, would be completed before June 2009.

Separately, Gepco Chief Executive Muhammad Ashraf Zahid said a schedule had been prepared for loadshedding and now there would be no unscheduled outages in Sialkot district.

The Gepco official said a lack of water in Tarbela and Mangla dams was the major cause behind the nationwide power crisis. He said dams were not producing electricity according to their capacity and gas was not being supplied to power plants according to their demand.

CAMPAIGN: The Social Welfare Department has started ‘Grow maximum wheat campaign’ in Sialkot district to motivate wheat growers.

DCO Atta Muhammad Khan told the media here on Wednesday that Sialkot district produced the best quality wheat, and the campaign had been started to motivate farmers to grow maximum wheat.