ISLAMABAD: Despite instructions from the prime minister, routine load-shedding continued in the country on Tuesday.
On Monday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had issued directions to the authorities to cut load-shedding by half across the country.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Secretary Water and Power Younas Dhaga said that work had been started to implement the PM’s directions.
“Work has been started to end load-shedding in the country on the special directions issued by the PM. Now electricity is available in the country according to demand. A major reduction in power cuts will also be witnessed,” he said.
However, the secretary said that load-shedding would not decrease in areas where bill recovery was low. “In such areas, where recovery is low, routine load-shedding will continue. Afterwards, a permanent strategy will be evolved,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Water and Power, load-shedding in urban areas would be reduced from six hours to three hours and in rural areas from eight hours to four hours.
The prime minister had earlier tasked the Water and Power secretary to effectively implement the instructions.
On Tuesday, the duration of load-shedding remained five hours in Rawalpindi Cantonment. In Misryal, Tounch Bata, Dhok Syedan, Dhok Chaudhrian and People’s Colony areas, load-shedding continued for nine hours.
PM constitutes committee: Separately, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired a meeting to review the performance of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) over the last six months. The meeting also reviewed the New Islamabad Airport project.
The PIA chairman briefed participants of the meeting. He said a significant enhancement had been registered in revenue. “The passengers uplift has registered a total increase of 26.7 percent and capacity of the airline has registered an increase of 17.3 percent. The domestic market share of PIA has significantly increased and performance of the cargo in terms of revenue has also enhanced,” he said.
The meeting was informed that PIA’s foreign flight operation was expanding.
The chairman said that PIA currently operated 37 aircraft. “The airline will have 50 aircraft by March 2018. We are also in talks with Airbus for acquiring new aircraft. PIA plans to induct seven new wide-body and 10 narrow-body aircraft,” he said.
The prime minister also reviewed the progress of the New Islamabad Airport project. The prime minister was informed that the construction work was on track. The prime minister said that the New Islamabad Airport would be an icon of excellence and would further promote the image of the country.
The prime minister was also briefed on the progress of work on the expansion of Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore. The prime minister directed the officials to expedite the work. The prime minister constituted a committee to come up with recommendations for resolving the budgetary problems facing the PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority. The committee will submit its proposals within 15 days.
The prime minister also directed the officials to complete the link road from Rawalpindi to New Islamabad Airport by March, 2017. The National Highways Authority was directed by the PM to ensure quality work in the project.
Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood Khan and other senior government officials were also present during the meeting.
