No end to power cuts till Dec '09

LAHORE - Loadshedding will continue till Dec 2009, as power crisis is unlikely to come to an end before the end of the next year.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf here on Monday at a press briefing he held after addressing the inaugural session of 20th International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage at Aiwan-e-Iqbal.

The Minister told the reporters that construction work on Bhasha-Diamir Dam would start in September 2009, adding that government’s main focus was hydropower generation to ensure cheaper electricity to the consumers.

While responding to a question, he flayed previous military government for providing subsidies on electricity and oil and added that his democratic government was doing its best to withdraw such subsidies.