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KARACHI: A nuclear power plant will be established near the existing Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, located along the city coast, to generate 1,000 megawatts, said provincial Power Minister Shazia Marri during the question hour in the Sindh Assembly on Friday.
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) plans to construct the new nuclear power plant, and the construction is expected to start in 2012-13 and complete within seven years, said Ms Marri while responding to a supplementary question
related to the power department asked by lawmaker Heer Ismail Soho.
The session, which was presided over by Sindh Asembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, began over an hour and a half behind the schedule and was adjourned at around 1pm for Monday.
The minister said that the PAEC was also interested in the construction of another nuclear power plant in Sindh for which it was making efforts to obtain some land in Sukkur.
She said that the target of the PAEC was to install more power plants having a total capacity of over 8,800MW by the year 2030.
When legislator Nusrat Seher Abbasi asked if the Sindh government would have the authority to inspect the proposed nuclear plant and if the Sindh government would have control over it, Ms Marri said that the PAEC, which was a federal agency, would
have control over it.
None of the lawmakers, however, expressed any concerns or raised any question regarding the safety and the location of the proposed nuclear power plant.
In reply to another question asked by Ms Soho regarding inflated / excess billing by the Karachi Electric Supply Company, the minister said there could be a chance when average bills or even excess bills were sent to people. If such consumers could not
get their bills rectified by visiting the KESC service centre, they could approach the power department, she explained. Yet if they were not satisfied, they could move courts, she added.
The minister also said that the Sindh government was making efforts to get representation on the boards of the power distribution utilities operating in the province.
Hydropower projects
In response to a query regarding Wapda plans related to hydropower projects on the Indus, Ms Marri said that the Jinnah hydropower project (96MW) would be operational in 2012; the Chashma hydropower project (184MW) had already been operational since 2003; a feasibility study on the Taunsa hydropower project (120MW) had been completed and handed over to the Punjab government.
However, she added, a feasibility study conducted in 1990 on the Guddu hydropower project (33.5MW) had not yet been handed over to the Sindh government. We are not only trying to get that study but also planning to get it updated as it was over two decades old.
She said two companies had also shown interest in projects at the Sukkur barrage.
Inspections
Lawmaker Arif Mustafa Jatoi wanted to know about the current status of inspections, which were banned nearly a decade ago, by electrical inspectors.
The minister said that the whole process was discontinued and banned in August 2003, after only some industrialists complained about alleged corruption in it, instead of making it transparent.
She added that the government was planning to streamline the process of inspection so that the practice could be resumed in a transparent manner to avoid electrical fires and subsequently save the life of people.
Inspections were required under the Electricity Act, 1910, she said, adding that they were made to avoid fire incidents caused by short circuits or other electrical failures, which had become common over the years.
In response to a supplementary question, she said she had no record of the number of fire incidents as the inspection process had been suspended. However, Mr Jatoi seemed unsatisfied with the answer.
He also drew the attention of the chair towards four other government departments population welfare; services, general administration, and coordination; land utilization and human rights and said questions related to them had not been
answered over four years.
Mr Khuhro said he would find out and inform him and also ensure that answers were provided soon.
Legislator Sikander Shoro raised the issue of Sindh University where a professor had been murdered a couple of weeks back.
He said the university had been closed for more than 15 days and demanded that the institution be opened soon. Law Minister Ayaz Soomro said that the vice chancellor concerned had been called by the chief minister to discuss the issue. He assured the house that the university, hopefully, would be opened shortly.
Referring to a token walkout by journalists against the sacking of a few staffers of a newspaper, Information Minister Shazia Marri expressed solidarity with them and said that the Sindh government could take up the issue with the newspaper owners body.
Following the question hour, lawmaker Muzammil Qureshi informed the house that Auqaf department staffers had not been paid their salary for three months and they were facing great hardship.
Sindh to have more nuclear power plants: Marri | Sci-tech | DAWN.COM
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) plans to construct the new nuclear power plant, and the construction is expected to start in 2012-13 and complete within seven years, said Ms Marri while responding to a supplementary question
related to the power department asked by lawmaker Heer Ismail Soho.
The session, which was presided over by Sindh Asembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, began over an hour and a half behind the schedule and was adjourned at around 1pm for Monday.
The minister said that the PAEC was also interested in the construction of another nuclear power plant in Sindh for which it was making efforts to obtain some land in Sukkur.
She said that the target of the PAEC was to install more power plants having a total capacity of over 8,800MW by the year 2030.
When legislator Nusrat Seher Abbasi asked if the Sindh government would have the authority to inspect the proposed nuclear plant and if the Sindh government would have control over it, Ms Marri said that the PAEC, which was a federal agency, would
have control over it.
None of the lawmakers, however, expressed any concerns or raised any question regarding the safety and the location of the proposed nuclear power plant.
In reply to another question asked by Ms Soho regarding inflated / excess billing by the Karachi Electric Supply Company, the minister said there could be a chance when average bills or even excess bills were sent to people. If such consumers could not
get their bills rectified by visiting the KESC service centre, they could approach the power department, she explained. Yet if they were not satisfied, they could move courts, she added.
The minister also said that the Sindh government was making efforts to get representation on the boards of the power distribution utilities operating in the province.
Hydropower projects
In response to a query regarding Wapda plans related to hydropower projects on the Indus, Ms Marri said that the Jinnah hydropower project (96MW) would be operational in 2012; the Chashma hydropower project (184MW) had already been operational since 2003; a feasibility study on the Taunsa hydropower project (120MW) had been completed and handed over to the Punjab government.
However, she added, a feasibility study conducted in 1990 on the Guddu hydropower project (33.5MW) had not yet been handed over to the Sindh government. We are not only trying to get that study but also planning to get it updated as it was over two decades old.
She said two companies had also shown interest in projects at the Sukkur barrage.
Inspections
Lawmaker Arif Mustafa Jatoi wanted to know about the current status of inspections, which were banned nearly a decade ago, by electrical inspectors.
The minister said that the whole process was discontinued and banned in August 2003, after only some industrialists complained about alleged corruption in it, instead of making it transparent.
She added that the government was planning to streamline the process of inspection so that the practice could be resumed in a transparent manner to avoid electrical fires and subsequently save the life of people.
Inspections were required under the Electricity Act, 1910, she said, adding that they were made to avoid fire incidents caused by short circuits or other electrical failures, which had become common over the years.
In response to a supplementary question, she said she had no record of the number of fire incidents as the inspection process had been suspended. However, Mr Jatoi seemed unsatisfied with the answer.
He also drew the attention of the chair towards four other government departments population welfare; services, general administration, and coordination; land utilization and human rights and said questions related to them had not been
answered over four years.
Mr Khuhro said he would find out and inform him and also ensure that answers were provided soon.
Legislator Sikander Shoro raised the issue of Sindh University where a professor had been murdered a couple of weeks back.
He said the university had been closed for more than 15 days and demanded that the institution be opened soon. Law Minister Ayaz Soomro said that the vice chancellor concerned had been called by the chief minister to discuss the issue. He assured the house that the university, hopefully, would be opened shortly.
Referring to a token walkout by journalists against the sacking of a few staffers of a newspaper, Information Minister Shazia Marri expressed solidarity with them and said that the Sindh government could take up the issue with the newspaper owners body.
Following the question hour, lawmaker Muzammil Qureshi informed the house that Auqaf department staffers had not been paid their salary for three months and they were facing great hardship.
Sindh to have more nuclear power plants: Marri | Sci-tech | DAWN.COM
as all decision makers are 
