‘Leave no stone unturned for building Bhasha, Mohmand dams’

on 02/11/2018

CJ Water Conference’ calls for ensuring water rights in Pakistan. International Symposium on `Creating a water-secure Pakistan` has called upon the governments and institutions involved in decision-making and execution of dams to use traditional and non-traditional financing methods including inter alia direct investment, corporate finance, portfolio investment, bonds upfront tariff, crowdfunding and public-private partnership arrangements to meet the huge financial requirement for construction of water storage facilities in the country.

The communication issued by the organizers at the conclusion of the conference says: relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan passed in constitution petition No.57 of 2016 in which the federal and provincial government, Wapda and all executive authorities in Pakistan who are responsible or have nexus/connection with the building of the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams and all matters connected there to, were directed to take all necessary steps for the commencement of construction and early completion of these dams.

Deeply concerned that Pakistan is now facing water crises as per the national water policy of Pakistan, the country’s per capita surface water availability has declined from 5,260 cubic meters per year in 1951 to approximately 1,000 cubic meters in 2016. According to the world resources institute, says the declaration issued after water conference organized by The law & justice commission of Pakistan under the auspices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Pakistan is at number 23 out of the top 33 water-stressed countries in 2040;  Pakistan council of research in water resources has opined that Pakistan may run dry by 2025 if the present conditions continue.

The declaration further says as under:

Declaration

1. The potential of Pakistan’s part of the Indus basin has to be realized through priority actions that need to be taken on an immediate basis. Maintaining the integrity of the Indus basin is a serious and important responsibility of the federation as well as the provinces, including all other administrative units and above all, the people of Pakistan,

2. It is imperative for Pakistan to invest in supply augmentation (dams and reservoirs) and ensure better utilization of its groundwater, adopting appropriate  (water recycling, desalinization, and water harvesting) and manage consumption and use of water (controlling water demand and pricing) and do all of this under the principles of mutual trust and benefit sharing,

3. International water law should be taken advantage of by consistently putting forward Pakistan’s perspective before various international forums and Pakistan’s strategy regarding the implementation of the Indus Water Treaty and its interpretation should be reconsidered and reviewed to bolster Pakistan’s case,

4. The government must introduce water accounting based on modernized water data collection methods to assess, amongst other things, the water availability per capita, in order to build trust amongst the provinces regarding water apportionment, particularly considering the requirement of the Indus delta and lower riparian areas in Pakistan,

5. Effective salinity and sedimentation management techniques must be adopted to protect Pakistan’s agricultural land and the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs respectively,

6. Numerous small and large dams and reservoirs must be constructed on a priority basis. Fast-track feasibility and action is required on the part of the executive,

7. Innovative solutions regarding storage facilities for low gradient plains (flat areas, coastal areas, hard rock, barani areas and desert areas) must be adopted,

8. The Indus basin irrigation network has to be extended which would bring several million acres of land under irrigation, and design water allocation right down to the district level,

9. Various traditional and non-traditional financing method including inter alia direct investment, corporate finance, portfolio investment, bonds upfront tariff, crowdfunding and public-private partnership arrangements must be employed to meet the huge requirement.

BLOODHOUND SUPERSONIC CAR!

on 22/10/2018

by: Abbas Mansoor

Bloodhound Supersonic car is a British supersonic land automobile currently under modification. Its goal is to match or exceed 1,000 miles per hour (1,609 km/h), achieving a new world land speed record. The pencil-shaped car, powered by a jet engine and a rocket engine, is designed to reach 1,050 miles per hour (1,690 km/h). It is being developed and constructed for the purpose of breaking the land speed record by 33 per cent, the biggest ever margin.

The main body of the vehicle is built, and last October (2017) Bloodhound supervised drill runs, topping 200 mph i.e. 32 km/h on the runway at New quay airport in Cornwall.

The track on which it means to beat the land speed record is also set to have the car. The Northern Cape Government in South Africa has had an 18 km-distance, 1,500 m-wide section of Hakskeen Pan cleared of stones (The work that’s been done on the pan is being repaired).

And, importantly, the one main part in the technical bundle that was amazing has just revealed its preparation. This is the rocket that would go in the rear side of Bloodhound to move it across the sonic wall.

Developed by the Norwegian aerospace and defense company Nammo, it was launched to space for the first time at the end of September. The Nucleus rocket flew to an altitude of 107 km from the Andaya Space Center.

Bloodhound would use a bunch of three Nucleus motors plus the Eurofighter EJ200 jet.

“Once we have the funding in place, or at least visibility of that funding, and the team is back in the building, then 10 months later we’re out in South Africa,” said Mark Chapman, Bloodhound’s chief engineer. “We’re that close. This is a huge opportunity for global exposure. Nammo firing that motor was really important, really impressive.”

The current plan is to run the car in the first occasion in the region of 500-600  mph (800-965 km/h), using just the Eurofighter jet, to get a better sense of how the car behaves as it approaches the speed of sound.

But currently this world’s fastest car is suffering from financial issues. The financial situation explained by Andrew Sheridan from FRP (French Rowley Partners) is:
“We have a legal entity that has gone into administration because it hasn’t got any more cash. But there is a project there that is very much alive and on the cusp of delivering its goal, which is ground-breaking with leading technology.
However, it does need circa £25 m to get it over the line, and that now requires an investor, be that a wealthy individual or a corporate of some kind,”

Bloodhound is a private project. It is funded through donations, sponsorship and partnership. Bloodhound has shined at leveraging all three, but ultimately this funding model has not delivered sufficient cash to fully sustain such a complex venture.

If the £25 m becomes available, Bloodhound could start running on Hakskeen Pan towards the end of 2019. Every individual should support such type of creative projects in every part of the world for the prosperity of engineering technology. We hope that the financial needs of the Bloodhound will be soon fulfilled and it will cross the 1000 mph speed limit on the road. Will be exciting to watch the world’s fastest car on the road.

Courtesy: BBC

Energy conservation –Need of the hour!

on 18/10/2018

Pakistan is facing the worst energy crisis that has affected all segments of society. The gap between electricity demand and supply is widening with every passing day. Electricity demand touched the record of 20058 MW in last August in the country whereas total installed capacity for power generation is 21021 MW out of which 18987 MW is dependable capacity.

But presently dependable capacity is about 13920 due to lack of water releases by IRSA to dams owing to canal closure. Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO)/NTDCL has the responsibility of electricity distribution to a total of 19.3 million consumers across the country. Ministry of Water and Power and PEPCO/NTDCL has chalked out a strategy to launch power generation projects with local and foreign collaboration to meet electricity demand. Hydel, apart from Nuclear, Coal, Solar Energy, Thermal and IPPs are the major sources of power generation in Pakistan.

Presently, Hydel power plays an important part in load management. Thermal and other renewable energy sources are generating electricity in sufficient quantity but due to different reasons like non-availability of gas and furnace oil, canal closure and technical problems the supply and demand gap has widened which has resulted in 10-12 hours of load management in rural and urban areas of the country. According to energy experts the electricity demand is rising by 8-10 percent per annum.

If this tendency continues, the electricity demand would rise phenomenally to 36,000 MW by the year 2015, 54,000 MW by 2020 and 119,000 MW by the year 2030. Hence, it is the need of the hour to take pragmatic measures not only by increasing power generation capacity but also reduction of demand through energy conservation. The change of attitudes and a change of life styles is needed at the national level to conserve electricity which will help in reducing the present run-way demand. Energy conservation is the only short term measure which can fill the gap between demand and supply.

Energy Conservation- How To. . .

We can save a lot of electricity through energy conservation which must be taken immediately to cope with the shortage of electricity

a. All unnecessary lights need to be switched off and especially while leaving the house.

b. Don’t use electricity unnecessarily during peak hours and make maximum usage of sunlight.

c. Don’t put electronic appliances on standby mode once not required.

d. Install UPS of good quality which, will help to save 20-30 per cent electricity.

e. Washing Machines, Microwaves, Iron, Heater and Geysers should not be used during 6 pm to 9 pm. (Peak hours)

f. Replace all incandescent bulbs and tube lights with energy savers (CFLs).

g. Replace all insufficient irrigation/ water supply motors and pumps with efficient equipment.

h. Use good quality copper wire in houses, shops, offices and factories etc it wills stop leakages and wastage of electricity.

i. Public awareness campaigns need to be run through electronic and print media to educate the masses. Reduction of lights up to 50 per cent in President and Prime Minister`s secretariat and houses of federal ministers, governors, chief ministers, all provincial ministers and government offices will be of great help in the programme of energy conservation.

The Govt needs to take strict measures to enforce energy conservation steps in true letter and spirit so that the energy discipline is enhanced among the consumers through awareness campaigns. As the energy experts say, “a mega watt saved is always better than a megawatt produced”.

Rs-37.6 billion released for PSDP Projects!

on 18/10/2018

The government has released over Rs 37.6 billion under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2018-19 for various ongoing and new schemes against the total allocations of Rs 675 billion.

The released funds include Rs 24.8 billion for federal ministries and Rs 11.8 billion for special areas, a latest data released by Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform said.

Out of these allocations, Rs 2.78 billion have been released for Communication Division (other than National Highway Authority) for which the government has earmarked Rs 13.9 billion under PSDP 2018-19.

Railways Division received Rs 4.17 billion out of its total allocation of Rs 28.06 billion whereas Aviation Division received Rs 205.45 million out of its total allocation of Rs 3.6 billion.

The government also released an amount of Rs 4.6 billion for various development projects of Higher Education Commission out of total allocation of Rs 30.9 billion, while Rs 4.7 billion have been released for Atomic Energy Commission.

Water Resource Division received Rs 455 million out of its total allocation of Rs 77.99 billion under PSDP 2018-19. The government also released Rs 593 million for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Division, for which an amount of Rs 10.9 billion have been allocated in the federal PSDP 2018-19 while Rs 60 million have been released for Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority out of its total allocations of Rs 285 million.

An amount of Rs 60 million have been released for Finance Division out of its total allocations of Rs 12.34 billion while Rs 153 million have been released for Climate Change Division out of its total allocations of Rs 802 million for the current year.

Similarly an amount of Rs 9.3 million have been released for Petroleum Division out of allocations of Rs 463 million, Rs 865 million for Planning, Development and Reform Division out of its allocations of Rs 7.05 billion whereas Rs 246.7 million have been released for SUPARCO out of its allocations of Rs 2.9 billion.

Likewise, the government also released Rs 20 million for Human Rights Division, and Rs 226 million for National Food Security and Research Division.

The government has also released Rs 4.74 billion for AJK (block and other projects) out of its allocations of Rs 25.8. billion,and Rs 7.1 billion for Gilgit Baltistan (block and other projects) out of its allocations of Rs 17.5 billion.

The government also released Rs 60 million for NTDC/PEPCO out of total allocation of Rs 33.3 billion, whereas Rs 110 million have been released for ERRA out of its total allocations of Rs 6.5 billion.

An amount of Rs799 million have been released for Prime Minister’s Youth Hunarmand Programme , Special Federal Development Programme for Temporarily Displaced Persons and Security Enhancement, and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess for which a total allocations of Rs 7.8 billion was made for the year 2018-19.

The Planning Commission of Pakistan has been following a proper mechanism for the release of funds and accordingly funds are released as per given mechanism. The commission releases 20% of funds in first quarter (July September), 20% in second quarter (October December), 25% third quarter (January March) and 35% in fourth quarter (April June).

ADB Assures Government of its support for reforms agenda!

on 18/10/2018

Asian Development Bank Vice-President Wencai Zhang has assured the government of its continued support for the new development and reforms agenda.

`We are committed to deepening our cooperation with the new government and supporting its development agenda to bring prosperity to the people of Pakistan, Zhang said last week after concluding his visit to Pakistan.

He held detailed meetings with Finance Minister Asad Umar, Planning and Development Minister, Khusro Bakhtiar, Education Minister, Shafqat Mehmood and Adviser to Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms, Dr Ishrat Hussain, as well as other government officials and development partners.

He congratulated the new administration on assuming office and noted the government`s `100-day agenda` that prioritises revitalising economic growth, transforming governance and revolutionizing social services.

Zhang noted the country`s economic growth momentum in recent years, driven by domestic demand and improvements in security, energy supply, and public infrastructure projects. However, the widening current account and fiscal deficits are key challenges to the economy.
He stressed the importance of economic stability and offered ADB`s support in improving Pakistan`s competitiveness, promote private sector, increase trade openness, and transform the institutions and economy.

Pakistan is an important member of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (Carec) to which ADB is extending programmatic support to deepen regional economic integration. Ahead of the Carec Ministerial Conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in November, Zhang said the bank is willing to support Pakistan in developing economic corridors within the framework of Carec and ADB`s Strategy 2030