Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan was trying to build new water reservoirs, and effort in this regard was being made. He was of the view that the issue of Baglihar Dam must be resolved according to the Indus Basin Waters Treaty (IBWT).
To a question, he said that Pakistan and India were bound to resolve the issue under the treaty and both countries would have to accept the experts' decision. He added that it was good that the World Bank had sent three names of experts in this regard.
It is relevant to mention that Pakistan and India were bound to communicate their willingness to the World Bank by May 9 regarding the proposed names of neutral experts.
Responding to a question regarding a four-month delay on Mangla Raising Dam Project, he said it was not an unusual phenomenon because such huge projects involve a number of stages including the mobility of physical infrastructure.
Earlier, addressing on this occasion, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan needed more dams for water storage to meet its growing demands in agriculture and energy sectors. He said that it was a very important national venture for the country, as it would result in additional water storage of about three million-acre feet apart from producing additional 120-megawatt electricity.
Shaukat Aziz pointed out that the idea of raising the level of Mangla Dam first occurred to President Pervez Musharraf when he was Corps Commander of Mangla. He added that after going through the process of feasibility reports and technical details, the government concluded very early that it was a feasible and viable project.
He mentioned that it was a huge project worth around Rs 62 billion (about one billion dollars) and it would be completed in September 2007.
He said that by raising the level of Mangla Dam we would be creating more storage capability in Pakistan's water system, however this would not be enough, we have to do more. He said that the government would have to come up with new dams, so that we could irrigate more land.
The Prime Minister stressed that the other important aspect of this project was the resettlement of the people, affected by the project. They should get fair and timely compensation, he added.
He said that since Pakistan's economy was growing at the rate of seven percent the country needed additional electricity at the rate of 10 percent in future. He said we have to invest today to meet future demands of electricity.
He also said that the project was yet another indication of strong ties between Pakistan and China. He has high hopes from the ministry of power regarding the timely completion of this project, as the delay of even one day would result in financial loss of millions of rupees.
He also thanked the AJK government for its co-operation. He also asked Wapda authorities to train more and more local people to recruit them on this project and said it would create a sense of ownership among local population.
While addressing on this occasion, Minister of Water and Power Liaquat Jatoi said that hydel power generation projects were viable in Pakistan and the ministry would hold more road shows in Dubai and London to attract foreign investors. He added that at present the demand for power in Pakistan was growing at the rate of 10 to 15 percent.
Chairman Wapda Tariq Hameed hoped that the project would be completed within the stipulated time.
Earlier, General Manager Water North Brigadier Mushtaq Ahmed (Retd) briefed the Prime Minister about the project and stated that the overall rate of progress of work on this project was around 8.9 percent. He added that in the coming days the progress rate of the projects would go up.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Minister of State for Water and Power Engr. Amir Muqam, Federal Secretary Water and Power Ashfaq Mehmood, Federal Minister of Population Chaudhry Shahbaz, former federal minister of trade Abdul Razak Dawood and high officials were also present on the occasion.