Zulfikarabad land to be used for wind energy

Karachi :The Sindh government is contemplating utilising the lands reserved for the proposed Zulfikarabad city in the coastal belt of Thatta for wind energy projects, The News learnt on Sunday.

The proposal came under deliberations during a recent meeting at Sindh Secretariat for setting up wind energy projects in different areas of the province.

The secretary investment told the meeting that more than 300,000 acres of land had been allocated for Zulfikarabad Development Authority (ZDA), which could also be utilised for wind energy projects. He said that a meeting scheduled between the chief secretary and the managing director ZDA would work out modalities for utilizing the Zulfikarabad land falling in the wind corridor.

Federal Secretary Water and Power Imtiaz Kazi stated that recently there had been an increased interest by local and foreign investors to opt for fast-track land allocation, which requires furnishing a bank guarantee of $300,000 per 50 megawatt (MW) to the effect that these projects would start commercial operations by Mach 31, 2013. He further informed that the list of such projects had been sent to the Sindh government vide federal government and the Ministry of Water and Power.

During the meeting, the deputy commissioner Thatta proposed that since most of the government land in Jhimpir had been allocated for wind energy projects, it would be advisable to enter into lease agreements with the private land owners in the area so that a maximum number of projects could be accommodated in the Jhimpir area.

Chief Secretary Sindh Raja Muhammad Abbas said that the Sindh government has already allocated land for 29 wind energy projects in the wind corridor of the province and the project sponsors were being facilitated through the Sindh Board of Investment. The meeting decided that the deputy commissioner Jamshoro would identity at least 10,000 acres of government land.