ISLAMABAD: South Korea has shown keen interest in investment opportunities in Pakistan, especially in the hydel power generation.
This transpired during a meeting between Minister for Power Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan and Minister of State Hashin Notezai with Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo, who called on the ministers on Wednesday.
The ambassador said that Korean companies like KIA and Samsung have made investments in Pakistan and are looking forward to exploring more avenues of cooperation.
Suh Sangpyo lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s commitment towards development projects during his time as chief minister and expressed high hopes that the same will be carried forward now that he is at the center.
Both sides agreed on accelerating the pace of development of hydel power projects by Korean companies. Such projects will not only improve Pakistan’s energy mix but also help bring the cost of power generation down.
Meanwhile, Khurram Dastgir while addressing the concluding session of a workshop on “the Development of an SDG7 Road Map for Pakistan” said that a mega energy conservation programme would be launched in the country in near future.
He said the programme will be placed soon before the Prime Minister for approval. The minister said Pakistan has already set up the goal to switch towards sixty percent renewable clean energy by 2030, as imported fuel is not affordable.
He said to keep up with the higher consumption of energy, Pakistan will need to invest an aggregate amount of $24.5 billion till 2030, which is equivalent to 0.7 percent annual GDP.
