'Diamer-Bhasha dam to serve as lifeline for future'

Businessmen have welcomed the announcement of a new timeline for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam and stated that the mega project would serve as lifeline for the future of the country, improve the energy mix, curtail huge oil import bill and bring down the cost of doing business.

In a statement on Monday, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mian Nauman Kabir expressed concern that Pakistan was ranked among those countries where water scarcity was getting severe.

He added that Pakistan was facing water shortfall despite being enriched with all resources.

“Pakistan is in a dire need of a different energy mix aimed at curtailing the lofty oil import bill and bringing down the cost of doing business as these issues are hampering the economic growth,” he said.

The LCCI president underlined that the water storage capacity of the country had dropped by a massive proportion and stated that it was being witnessed partly due to aversion of people towards water and power projects.