PM Announces Tube Well Solarization Project for Balochistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday announced that 28,000 agricultural tube wells in Balochistan would be shifted to solar power, under an agreement reached between the federal and Balochistan provincial governments. Talking to the media after the agreement signing ceremony, the premier said the federal government would provide 70 percent of the funds while 30 percent of funds would be contributed by the Balochistan government. The total cost of the initiative is around Rs. 55 billion. The PM also met the provincial cabinet in which the federal ministers and Governor Balochistan Jafar Khan Mandokhel and Chief Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti were present. Earlier, the premier witnessed an agreement signing ceremony between the federal and the provincial governments for shifting of electricity run tube wells to solar power. He tasked the chief minister to complete the project within three months. He said that the completion of the project would ensure the prosperity of the farmers and bring a large area of cultivable land under farming.