FRANCE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION PROVIDE A 2.5 MILLION EUROS (370 MILLION PKR) GRANT FUNDING FOR THE FIRST PAKISTAN HYDROPOWER TRAINING INSTITUTE: “CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR HYDROPOWER”
On December 17th, 2013, Mr. Ali Reza Bhutta, Joint Secretary of Economic Affairs Division (EAD), His Excellency Mr. Philippe Thiébaud, Ambassador of France, and Mr. Denis CASSAT, Country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD), in the presence of Mr. Berend de Groot Director of cooperation at the European Union delegation signed the Grant funding agreement for the establishment of Pakistan Hydropower Training Institute (HPTI) at Mangla.
This grant was delegated to the AFD by the European Union. It aims at completing the rehabilitation of the existing training centre of Mangla and its transformation into a “centre of excellence for hydropower” in order to increase the capacity of both public & private hydropower operators. This centre will be, upon completion, the only centre in Pakistan ensuring sound and skilled development of hydropower projects in the country, both at technical and engineering levels.
The HPTI will integrate the latest international standards by:
Ensuring adaptation of large dam infrastructures to climate change (droughts and floods);
Improving the resilience, safety and profitability of hydropower projects;
Benefiting from carbon finance by presenting eligible projects under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM);
Selecting projects in line with the best environmental and social practices, therefore attracting international funding more easily.
Besides the grant of 2.5 million euros provided to the Government of Pakistan, France, through the AFD, contributes to address the current national energy crisis and emerges as a major contributor, in line with the pledge made by the French Government at the Tokyo Conference in April 2009 (i.e. 300 millions Euros in the energy and water sectors - currently committed at 75% i.e. 225 Million Euros).
To reduce the power demand and improve energy efficiency, the AFD is also co-financing with the Asian Development Bank a programme on energy efficiency in the domestic and industrial sectors. In addition, the AFD is supporting the development of renewable energies in order to improve the power supply in Pakistan. There are three projects currently being developed:
Jaggran II hydropower projects (48 MW run-of-river hydroelectric power plant on the Jaggran river, Neelum Valley, AJK , 68 million Euros);
Munda / Mohmand hydropower project located in Mohmand Agency (11 millions Euros- detailed design studies and initial phase);
Harpo hydropower project in the Gilgit-Baltistan Skardu region (50 million Euros).
In the future, the AFD will explore additional potential projects to fund the rehabilitation or the extension of hydropower plants in various places in association with WAPDA and provincial operators like PHYDO, HEB, etc.
