ECC okays Rs24.5b for solarization of 27,000 tube wells in Balochistan

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the release of Rs24.5 billion to ensure the timely completion of the ambitious solarization project for 27,000 agricultural tube wells in Balochistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday. 

The approval was granted at a meeting of ECC held in Islamabad today, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in the chair.                  

The project will be completed at a cost of 55 billion rupees jointly by the federal government and provincial government of Balochistan with the financing ratio of 70 and 30 percent respectively.

The ECC was told that an amount of 14 billion rupees had already been released.              

The ECC directed the Power Division to closely monitor the implementation of the project, particularly the disconnection of tubewells from the grid and the removal of transformers and fixtures for every batch of feeders, as agreed under the project.

The ECC also directed the Power Division to report the progress on this account in July.

During the meeting, the ECC was briefed by the Power Division about power distribution companies, that Board of Directors of al DISCOs have been reconstituted and a monthly performance monitoring mechanism to evaluate key operational, commercial, and financial parameters has been implemented for all DISCOs.

 The ECC approved the extension of Rs50 billion worth of sovereign guarantees for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) until June 2026.

The ECC also approved several technical supplementary grants for different ministries.