Attributing the decrease in production to an 8% decline in the cultivation area during 2012-13, the minister said that the crop area had declined because of low availability of water at the time of harvest. Growers, he said, also lost interest in cotton because of low prices offered in 2011-12 and damages caused by rains, floods and canal breaches in Punjab and Sindh.
Area under cotton cultivation damaged by rains, hill torrents or breaches of canals was about 234,982 acres, which is about 3% of the area sown during 2012-13, he added. Highlighting steps taken by the government to increase cotton production, the minister said that these measures included: introducing high-yield varieties with good fibre characteristics, ensuring availability of certified seed to cotton growers in co-ordination with the Ministry of Food Security and Research, restructuring of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee to achieve its research mandate in line with modern challenges in production enhancement, pursuing provincial governments for effective implementation of Cotton Control Ordinance of 1966 and improvements in extension services.
Cotton yields have increased from 724.7 kilograms per hectare in 2010-11 to 815.34 kg/ha in 2011-12. During the question-hour, MNA Salahuddin asked the Minister for water and power to inform the house about the fact that South Korea intended to extend its co-operation in the projects of water and power in the country.
Replying to the question, State Minister for water and Power Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi said that South Korea was co-operating with Pakistan in the Water and Power projects. He maintained that a company named 'Star Hydropower Ltd', owned by South Korean companies (K-Water & Daewii), was implementing the 147-megawatt Patrind Hydropower Project on River Kunar in Azad Kashmir/Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under Power Policy 2002. The project is expected to be completed by December 2016, he said.
Another Korean Company had also expressed interest in developing another private sector hydropower project - the 100MW Gulpur hydropower project on Poonch River in Azad Kashmir and was currently involved in finalising the process, he added. He maintained that the Contract Agreement for procurement of transmission line material, financed by Korea Eximbank for 220KV Ghazi Road Grid Station, Lahore, had been signed with M/s Daewoo International Corporation of South Korea on November 25, 2009 with the contract price Korean Won 26,400 million whereas the EDCF loan for procurement of Transmission Line material was Korean Won 17,903 million, which was only sufficient for 70% material.
However, Korea Eximbank has now arranged a Supplementary Loan for the deficit amount of Korean Won 8,497 million equivalent to $7.2 million for the remainder 30% material. In this regard, a Contract Agreement was being signed between Korea Eximbank & NTDC, he said. He said that a South Korean firm, M/s Sambu Sarco, is the main contractor for the civil works (Lot-2 & 3.1) of Golen Gol Hydro Power Project (106MW) in Chitral, Khyber Paktunkhwa. Other South Korean firms had also expressed interest in developing Hydro Power Projects in Pakistan, he said.