The Federal Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub Khan, met the Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Lis Rosenholm, at his office today. The Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power, Tabish Gauhar, also joined the meeting.
During the meeting, the outlook of the emerging market of the energy sector and business opportunities in view of the newly-approved Alternative Energy Policy were discussed.
The Danish ambassador, while appreciating the government’s commitment to raising the share of renewable energy, said that the new policy is more transparent as it provides a level playing field for all.
She suggested the setting up of a joint energy platform to study the market so that Danish companies could closely follow developments in the field of renewable energy and participate in the competitive process of renewable energy projects.
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Minister Omar Ayub Khan acknowledged Denmark’s leading role in clean and green energy at the global level and revealed that Pakistan has also begun to tap into its indigenous potential of renewable energy.
The minister said that Pakistan’s New Renewable Energy Policy would provide opportunities for investors due to the transparent policies of the current government. He also stated that the government has set an ambitious target to introduce 25 percent renewable energy by 2025, and 30 percent by end of 2030, including a 45 percent share of hydel power generation, and 10 percent of nuclear energy into the energy mix of the country.
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While explaining the investment potential in the power sector, the minister said that the government will establish renewable energy-based power plants through an open and transparent competitive bidding process to lower the cost of the production of electricity. He also apprised the envoy of how the government has prepared the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2047 for a competitive market structure, generation, the up-gradation of transmission, Smart AMI, and the modernization of the distribution system.
The minister also discussed with the ambassador how the lowering of electricity costs for industries and the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will boost economic activities along with the creation of thousands of new jobs in the country.
