Pakistan opens first solar power plant, built with Chinese investment
Bahawalpur, May 6 (ANI): Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the country's first solar power plant, the latest fruit of increasingly close cooperation with China and a step towards an electoral promise to end crippling power cuts. The solar park in Punjab province produces 100 MW of power, which will be increased to 1,000 MW by next year. The plant, owned by Punjab province and built by China's Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co Ltd (TBEA), took a year to build at a cost of $190 million, Pakistani government documents show. Power shortages cripple industry and have led to widespread discontent. Sharif is keen to address the problem before the next election, due by 2018. Pakistan says $37 billion of Chinese investment is going into energy ventures to generate 16,400 MW of power.
