Sindh Energy and Planning and Development Minister, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, has said the provincial government will extend maximum assistance to the private sector willing to invest in the country to introduce electric vehicles and EV charging stations to curtail the fossil fuel consumption in the transport sector.
The Sindh Energy Minister stated this on Wednesday while talking to the media persons after he held a meeting with Yasir Bhambani, CEO of ADM Group, who have plans to launch electric vehicles and EV charging stations in Sindh and other parts of the country.
Nasir Hussain Shah told the journalists that the transport sector should transition away from fossil fuels to the maximum possible extent to curtail Pakistan’s oil import bill and safeguard the environment.
He said the Sindh government would utilize its successful public-private partnership mode of development to provide suitable sites and other facilities to set up EV charging stations in cities and main highways.
He said that provincial authorities had the fullest realization that EV charging facilities were not only available in all parts of Karachi but also on main highways and motorways to facilitate inter-city travel.
He said the promotion of EVs, electric bikes, electric taxis, and buses and their charging facilities in Sindh were fully in line with the directives by Pakistan Peoples Party Chair Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to effectively tackle the issue of climate change.
He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Sindh Local Government Department could fully assist prospective private sector investors willing to set up EV charging facilities at suitable sites in the main urban centers.
Nasir Hussain Shah said the Sindh government would also play its role in the EV charging stations getting uninterrupted power supply from the main electricity grid at the most affordable rates as per the incentive package of the government to promote electric vehicles in the country.
He told journalists that a wheeling system could also be used to ensure uninterrupted power supply under B2B arrangements for EV charging facilities from the proposed solar, wind hybrid clean electric generation plants to be set up in the wind corridor of the province.
He said that if any viable deal was offered to the provincial authorities by a prospective private sector investor, then a plan could be rolled out to replace the cars in the government vehicle pool with EVs to lessen the fuel expense of the Sindh government.
He informed journalists that the relevant agencies of the Sindh government, including Investment, Energy, Planning and Development departments and the Public Private Partnership Board, would fully assist the private sector to invest in EV manufacturing, marketing, and setting up charging stations.
Earlier, the CEO of ADM Group told the Sindh Energy Minister about the plan to set up over 600 EV charging stations in Sindh.
He said the proposed charging stations would also recharge the electric buses operational in Karachi under the People’s Bus Service.
He also informed the Energy Minister of the plans to set up assembly plants to produce EVs in Pakistan with complete transfer of technology.
He said that mini-electric vehicles to be introduced by his business group would especially replace the conventional fuel-powered cars currently serving the customers of different ride-hailing services in cities.
He said that his business group would launch its brand of EVs in Pakistan as soon as a network of 1,000 EV charging stations started working across Pakistan.
Bhambani said that his business group was fully willing to work with local investors who were keen to set up EV charging facilities in urban centres.
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Business leaders Arif Habib A Sami Khan khalid Tawab Zubair Tufail Ishtiaq Baig Naeem Qureshi Managing Editor Energy Update and others were also attended this event
