Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: After receiving the solar lightening project from China, the F-9 Park has become the first ever park of the country which has been shifted to solar power.

A ceremony to “Handing-Over of F-9 Park Solar Lighting Project” was organised at F-9 park, which was attended by the Federal Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who acted as the chief guest.

Mr.Sun Weidong, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China and Shaikh Ansar Aziz, the Mayor of Islamabad and the Chairman of the CDA were also present at the ceremony.

On this occasion, the finance minister congratulated the citizens of Islamabad, the Chinese government and the Chairman CDA on the completion of the solar power project at Fatima Jinnah Park in the F-9 Sector.

He thanked the Chinese government for granting an assistance of 33.1 million Renminbi (US$ 4.8 million) for establishing the project which has an installed capacity of 0.85 MW. The minister also appreciated the efforts of the Capital Development Authority for the timely completion of the project.

The finance minister also said that projects like the CPEC which have US$ 34 billion for energy projects and another US$ six billion for the development of the Gwadar Port are an excellent example of the friendship between Pakistan and China. The F-9 Park Solar Lighting Project is the second project of this kind in Pakistan as the first one was installed at the Parliament House in Islamabad with the help of China.

Solar panels at the Parliament House have the capacity to generate 80 MW of electricity, 62 MW of which are being consumed by the House while 18 MW are being contributed to the national grid.

The current project is yet another example of the good relations which both the countries have for decades. The minister also said that the Government of the PML-N had a firm resolve to end load shedding by the end of 2017 and to fulfil this ambition, the government was actively working on projects that would contribute almost 27000MW to the national grid in the years to come.

The finance minister also urged the Capital Development Authority to work hard on improving the civic facilities for the citizens of Islamabad

The ceremony was delayed for around two hours as the minister for finance was busy in the meeting of the federal cabinet and reached the programme somewhat late, which caused inconvenience to the organiser as well as the participants.

The finance minister has also unveiled a plaque and inaugurated the project.