Shahbaz sees partner in Sweden for ‘smart Punjab’:
LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif says Punjab can benefit from Sweden’s hi-tech technology to generate power from waste.
He said thousands of tones of waste generated in Lahore and
other cities could be used to produce power. He said the Lahore Waste
Management Company was doing well but it needed to do more. He said
garbage could not be dumped on landfill sights all the time as the land
was getting expensive and transportation cost going up.
Mr
Sharif said this at a seminar on ‘Smart cities by Sweden’ presenting
sustainable urban solutions by Swedish companies for Pakistan by the
embassy of Sweden to Pakistan, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council and
the Swedish Business Council in Pakistan at a local hotel on Thursday.
Stating
that Punjab had suffered a lot in the industry and agriculture sector
due to the lack of energy, he said Punjab had become the first province
in Pakistan to introduce solar power generation on commercial lines at a
very low tariff rates. He said the government had also launched a first
large power project in Bhikki while ensuring cheap power and clean
environment for consumers. He said more power projects would come up
soon.
He said Sweden had high technology despite being a small
country, thanking the Swedish ambassador to Pakistan for organising the
seminar and introducing the team of ‘Smart cities’. He said economic
cooperation between the two countries was already in place and a Punjab
government’s delegation had recently visited Sweden to promote
cooperation with regard to improvement in traffic system and checking
accidents. He asserted that working relationship must increase between
the Punjab government and Sweden besides business to business contacts
to expedite business and trade activities.
Mr Sharif said
the execution of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor had opened up doors
to foreign investment in the country and a large number of friendly
courtiers were taking interest in it while several friendly countries
were joining the projects.
Swedish Ambassador Ingrid
Johansson said the ‘Smart cities’ was a one response to chief minister’s
call for strengthening economic relations between Punjab and Sweden.
Since
Labour is scarce and costly in Sweden, she said, smart and sustainable
solutions were key to maintaining country’s way of life and high
standard of living. She said many of those solutions had proven
successful and were in high demand worldwide and contributing to the
continued success of Swedish industry worldwide.
Honorary
Consul General Syed Babar Ali said that he had visited Sweden in 1954
and established a joint venture in 1956. He said Pakistan and Sweden
relationship was moving forward since then.
Business Sweden – The Swedish Trade and Invest Council project manager Lisa Tullus also spoke.
Companies’ representatives gave presentations about their products aimed at developing smart cities.
No comments:
Post a Comment