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KARACHI - Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has announced the country today has not only met its energy needs but also has surplus power.

Abbasi said when the PML-N government came to power in 2013, the country was facing loadshedding of up to 16 hours a day, but now it is generating surplus electricity.

Reiterating the PML-N government’s unwavering resolve towards strengthening and taking forward democratic system, Abbasi said Pakistan’s future lied in democracy and there were no choices.

“Elections will be held in August next year. Our future lies in democracy. There are no choices here,” the prime minister emphatically stated while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the first unit of 1320MW coal-fired power project at Port Qasim. The first unit will produce 660MW of electricity.

Prime Minister Abbasi said, “We have a vibrant democracy, we have freedom of expression and we have free media while the institutions of the state have delivered for the people of Pakistan.”

“We may have difference of opinion, we may have dharnas (sit-ins) and we may have differences, but the institutions of state have stood together to defeat terrorism and reject extremism,” he maintained.

Prime Minister Abbasi said the US$ 2 billion-1320MW coal-fired power project, initiated under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), reflected the vision of Chinese President Xi Jinping and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He said the first unit of the 660MW had been completed in 30 months, ahead of the schedule, and he had been assured that the second unit of 660MW would also be completed ahead of the schedule and inaugurated in February 2018.

The prime minister said the 1320MW coal power project, jointly developed by Power China Resources Limited and Al Mirqab Capital of Qatar, was not only producing the cheapest power, but also was environment-friendly.

He said the completion of the first unit of coal-fired power project was a significant milestone in CPEC and for that both Power China Resources Limited and Al Mirqab Capital should be congratulated.

The prime minister said Pakistan was fully committed to CPEC which was bound not only to push economic growth and prosperity but was also creating job opportunities for the youth.

“I can say with full confidence that Pakistan has surplus power generation,” he added. He said the PML-N government launched various power projects and completed them, adding even the 400MW Nandipur power project which had been lingering for the last 10 years was completed by the present government. “This is the reality of the PML-N government,” he remarked.

The prime minister said the government had also brought about diversity in energy fuel-mix and reduced the cost of production. Last month Nepra (National Power Regulatory Authority) reduced the electricity price for consumers by Rs 2 per KW, he added.

He also mentioned various power projects, including coal-fired, gas-fired and hydel-based, which had added thousands of megawatts of power to the national grid over the last four and a half years.

The prime minister said the main objective and purpose of the development projects, including power projects, was to achieve high economic growth, generate job opportunities for the youth and bring prosperity for the people of Pakistan.

Besides, he said, the PML-N government intended to provide resources and was committed to supporting the provincial governments in achieving 100 percent literacy rate, with target for 100 percent enrollment, 100 percent retention and 100 percent graduation.

Earlier, the prime minister, on arrival at the Karachi airport, was received by Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and senior officials.