News Desk |
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Bestway Group, Zameer Choudrey, has welcomed the initiative of dams’ construction by the Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, terming it essential for the long-term progress of Pakistan.
The CEO further clarified that Bestway Cement was exonerated by none other than the CJP in the water exploitation case. In fact, Bestway Cement has invested Rs1.8 billion in water preservation measures, including the installation of new air cooling condensing plants, the first of its kind in Pakistan, to reduce its water requirements by over 80%.
The step follows a PKR100m (US$0.74m) fine imposed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on DGKC for drying up water resources around the Katas Raj Temple, the analyst observed.
At the fundraising event organized by the World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis, the chief justice praised owners of Bestway Group, Mr. Anwar Pervez and Zameer Choudrey for playing their part in the Supreme Court’s drive for water preservation and thanked the Group for its role in doing business the right way.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar embarked on a week-long private trip to Britain in order to raise funds for the construction of Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dams. According to the details, CJP attended fund-raising ceremonies in London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Read more: Cement industry set to be boosted by Diamir Bhasha Dam construction
The scarcity of water is indeed one of the major challenges faced by Pakistan and unlike previous governments, PTI-led government and CJP are determined to handle it for the better future of coming generations. Water-war from both sides (Afghanistan and India) has furthered the already existing water crisis in Pakistan. Dams are an urgent need, and thankfully Pakistan’s leadership has finally realized that.
The main stumbling block now, behind Pakistani inability to construct larges dams, is the lack of financial capital. While international finance, from World Bank or Asian Development Bank (ADB), is available for projects like Kalabagh Dam, no such funds are now available for undertaking such projects in the former state of Jammu & Kashmir because of Indian objections. The proposed Diamir Basha Dam, alone, is estimated to cost about $ 14 -15 billion which is extremely difficult for the government to generate on its own in its current financial condition.
In fact, Bestway Cement has invested Rs1.8 billion in water preservation measures, including the installation of new air cooling condensing plants, the first of its kind in Pakistan, to reduce its water requirements by over 80%.
Meanwhile, a new waste heat recovery (WHR) plant is being planned by DG Khan Cement to reduce water consumption at its 2.11Mta Chakwal plant in Punjab, according to a report of Intermarket Securities Ltd.
The new plant would include improved technology that requires only marginal water consumption. This would avoid the technical and financial challenges of sourcing water, said the company’s management. The step follows a PKR100m (US$0.74m) fine imposed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on DGKC for drying up water resources around the Katas Raj Temple, the analyst observed.
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The report says that in light of recent events and lower-than-guaranteed efficiency levels from the existing 8.6MW WHR plant at Chakwal, the company has fully impaired the asset (in 4QFY18) and now plans to install a new plant of the same size. The facility is expected to cost PKR2.0-2.2bn and would require a construction time of 13-15 months.