KARACHI: Saudi-based ACWA Power is set to start Pakistan operations next month by investing in solar projects in the southwestern Balochistan province, a top Pakistani power division official said on Friday, putting in motion an agreement signed during a high-profile visit to Islamabad by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in February.
The crown prince signed agreements of over $20 billion during his trip, including for a $10 billion oil refinery in the coastal town of Gwadar in Balochistan.
“ACWA Power will come to Pakistan after Ramadan,” Irfan Ali, Federal Secretary Power Division, told Arab News. “They will invest in solar projects in Balochistan.”
“Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan; we are trying to switch major parts of Balochistan to solar power,” Ali said, adding that “the exact quantum of the investment [by ACWA Power] will be determined after the survey of projects.”
Riyadh-based ACWA Power, partly owned by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, has a presence in 11 countries including Oman, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam, Mozambique, and Egypt with regional offices in Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo, Rabat, Johannesburg, Hanoi, and Beijing.
The company, which develops power and desalinated water plants, signed a $2 billion deal with Pakistan to invest in solar projects during the crown prince’s visit.
Facing enduring energy shortages, Pakistan is taking steps to increase the share of renewable energy in its total energy mix which is at present dominated by fossil fuel at up to 80 percent.
Only about 5 to 6 percent of the power to Pakistan’s national electrical grid currently comes from renewable energy, according to the country’s Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB).
The new government of Pakistan led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who came to power in August, is planning to increase the share of renewable energy (power generated from wind, solar, small hydro and biomass sources) to 30 percent by 2030.
Pakistan today imports more than 95 percent of the solar panels and other renewable energy systems it uses, largely from China. But new high quality solar maps — essential to securing financing for major solar projects — show Pakistan is one of the world’s best countries for producing solar energy because of its arid climate and latitude. The maps were developed by the Alternative Energy Development Board and the World Bank, drawing on data from nine solar data stations and 12 wind masts installed across the country.
The solar maps highlight which regions are most suitable for solar power generation. Balochistan, a desert area with little cloud cover or air pollution, has the country’s largest solar potential, they show. Sindh is another prime location.
Pakistan’s data has been made public as part of the Global Solar Atlas website, giving commercial scale projects ready-to-use seasonal and monthly data.
This means investors do not have to spend significant time and money gathering data for their projects. Instead, they can instantaneously acquire certified data of ‘bankable’ quality that should be acceptable to commercial financing institutions. That can substantially lower the costs around projects, which in turn encourages companies to set up large-scale solar power facilities.
Frustrated with constant power cuts, consumers around the country are already installing small-scale roof-top solar systems for their homes and businesses.
In general, the solar industry is poised for massive expansion, driven primarily by cost reductions. Solar Photovoltaic (PV) capacity could reach between 1,760 and 2,500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, according to AEDB.
Saudi ACWA poised to start work on Pakistan solar projects next month
Saudi ACWA poised to start work on Pakistan solar projects next month
- Riyadh-based company signed $2 billion agreement with Islamabad during Saudi crown prince’s visit in February
- Only about 5 to 6 percent of power to Pakistan’s national electrical grid comes from renewable energy
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
