SIGNING OF 150MW PROJECT HELD IN SEOUL

 A signing ceremony for Patrind Hydro Power IPP project of 150 MW capacity to be set up at Muzaffarabad was held in Seoul, capital of South Korea on 30th of April.

 Secretary, Ministry of Investment, Tariq Iqbal Puri and Managing Director, Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Fayyaz Elahi attended the ceremony where the consortium of K-Water, Sambu Construction and Daewoo E&C and UAE’s Al-Ghurair Group signed the agreement for share purchase and shareholding. High level officials from Korean Government were also present.

 The three renowned Korean companies will have 49 percent share in the $331 million project. The project is expected to be financed by Asian Development Bank and Korean Export-import Bank on a non-recourse basis.

 In the meanwhile, PPIB issued Letter of Intent in 2005 in favour of the Star Hydro Ltd., a project company for the project and a power tariff was approved by NEPRA this February under the power policy 2002.

 The project is a run-of-river type hydro power development project catering the energy needs of 200,000 households of Muzaffarabad area, also promoting regional economic development of AJ & K Province.