Pakistan keen to cooperate with India on energy projects: Shahbaz Sharif

LAHORE: The government of Pakistan's Punjab province is keen to seek support from India's Punjab state to install bio-gas and bio-mass power generation plants, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said today.

Sharif spoke about his government's plans to ramp up production of energy from alternative sources during a meeting here with a delegation of Indian energy experts, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

He said his government is committed to overcome the energy crisis and will seek assistance from every available quarter for this purpose.

The head of the Indian delegation' Perveet Baadal, expressed his readiness to cooperate with the Punjab government to set up power plants based on alternative sources.

Pakistan has been holding talks with India on importing electricity. The two sides are likely to ink an MoU for electricity trade, a source said.

India has offered to supply 500 MW and officials say the plan could be implemented within a year by laying a transmission line.

A senior government official said Pakistan could import up to 2,000 MW from India to tackle an acute shortage of energy that has hit economic growth.

Sharif, the younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, made a high-profile visit to Indian Punjab earlier this month to boost business cooperation between the two sides.