UAE Group to manufacture solar, wind power plants in Pakistan
Karachi, 20 April 2007
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan
http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8001&Itemid=2
A leading UAE based, Dhabian Group of Companies will set up a manufacturing unit to produce high quality but cheaper small solar and wind power plants in Gwadar industrial area. This was stated by the Khalfan Saeed Al-Mazrui, Chairman, Dhabian Group and Director General, private department of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of UAE here Friday. He said that Norwegian technology will be used to produce small solar and wind power plants which cost around $ 1000 each.
Each plant will generate electricity, sufficient to cater to the requirements of one village at a low cost. Local production of these plants will further reduce the cost due to cheaper local labour, he added. These plants will be installed in the villages of Balochistan and Sindh where electricity has yet not reached. Al-Mazrui said that he had been told that 40,000 villages in Pakistan were without electricity.
In addition, Dhabian Soiltec has plans to install a desalination plant to produce 25 million gallons of water per day (MGD) in Karachi and the talks with City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal were held in this regard. Similarly, he said, desalination plants will be installed in Gwadar for producing 2 million gallons of water per day each and an agreement has been singed with Gwadar Development Authority and Balochistan Government.
Al Mazrui pointed out that his group has already planned to set up One Stop Shop for offshore/onshore oil and gas services company on the coast line of Gwadar at a cost of $ 3.2 billion. This will offer all facilities to cater to the needs of the regional countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, India and China.
“ We will also set up a most modern hi-tech university in Balochistan to impart latest knowledge in all disciplines of oil and gas besides investing in shopping malls, recreational centers, family entertainment areas, commercial complexes, 5-star hotels”, he opined. He said that these trained people will not only be available for the fast growing oil and gas sector in Pakistan but can be exported to neighbouring countries to generate foreign exchange. “ Pakistan is a very important country for UAE and we want to do more for its growth and prosperity through investment in education and infrastructure projects”, Al-Mazrui said.