LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Leader Ejaz Chaudhry said on Monday that Prime Minister Imran Khan is giving preference to hydel and renewable energy projects for resolving energy related problems in Pakistan. He said that due to the efforts of the chief justice and the prime minister, Bhasha Dam would be constructed and funding issue would also be resolved. He was addressing a national conference on energy crisis and its solutions organised by Punjab University College of Earth & Environmental Sciences (CEES) in collaboration with Pakistan Association for Advancement of Sciences at University Law College’s auditorium. Punjab University Vice Chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmad, CEES Principal Professor Dr Sajid Rashid, scientists and engineers from various parts of the country, faculty members and a large number of students participated in the conference. In his address, PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry said that the government was working on producing energy through solar, wind, wave, hydel and other projects. He said that there was abundance of natural resources in Pakistan and we could construct a large number of small and big dams to utilise water resources. However, he said, Pakistan would face water crisis in the next 10 to 15 years and we need to prepare ourselves to avoid this crisis. He said that our communication and distribution systems were obsolete and the government would curb line losses and electricity theft incidents during its five-year tenure. He urged the young scientists, engineers and students to contact any official concerned if they face any problem in their energy projects that could contribute to resolving energy issues. He appreciated PU Institute of Policy Studies set up by the vice chancellor and said that PU had the potential to provide guidelines in all sectors. Addressing the ceremony, PU VC Professor Niaz Ahmad said that Pakistan had abundance of natural resources and it could cope with energy issues. However, he said, it was a big challenge to produce low-cost and environment friendly energy. He said that we must have the technology which could reduce environmental problems during the process of energy production. He said that we must give preference to solar and hydel energy projects and focus on effective utilization of coal reservoirs. He also announced establishment of Renewable Energy Centre at PU and said that funding would be provided to this project. Professor Dr Sajid Rashid said that the conference would provide best recommendations to the government for resolving energy issues. He said that the conference would provide an opportunity to young scientists, engineers, researchers and students for benefiting from each other’s research and experiences. Dr Salim Chaudhry also presented report of the associations’ activities. Published in Daily Times, December 11th 2018.