KARACHI: The Consulate General of Japan in Karachi organized an ODA Press Tour Wednesday in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in which a group of journalists from various media houses participated, says a Press release.
The purpose of the ODA Press Tour was to increase media’s awareness on Japanese Government Assistance Projects and its initiatives in Pakistan. Furthermore, it was also intended to inform the Pakistani people about the contribution of Japan towards improving Pakistan’s development in various areas.
This time, journalists, together with the members of the Consulate General and JICA, undertook the one-day tour and visited 2 project-related sites. The project sites included Jamshoro Power Plant built under the Japan’s ODA loan scheme with JICA, and a water supply and sanitation related project in Tando Muhammad Khan, which was built under Japanese government’s Grant Assistance for the Grass-Roots Human Security Project (GGP) with Sindh Community Foundation (SCF).
During the visit at Jamshoro Power Plant, JICA staffs briefed about the background, purpose and significance of the “Jamshoro Thermal Power Station Project”. CEO Jamshoro Power Generation Company Ltd explained that OECF/JICA financed JPY 20.987 billion for construction of unit 5 of Jamshoro Thermal Power Station which has the capacity of 250MW and was completed in 1994 and has been successfully providing electricity to national grid since then. JICA side also briefed about its energy sector portfolio and its contribution in the form of ODA Yen loans, Grand Aid and Technical Cooperation.
On the visit to SCF site, villagers expressed the appreciation to the Government of Japan for the provision of the infrastructure. The Government of Japan provided SCF with US$99,935 (approx. Rs. 9.4 million) for “The Project for Improving Water Supply and Sanitation Systems of 27 Flood-Affected Villages in the District Tando Muhammad Khan, Sindh.” The infrastructure has been enormously benefiting the population that have difficulty in accessing water and sanitation due to the flood in 2011. The project included 216 Hand Water Pump, 5 Water Supply Scheme, and 200 Construction of Public Latrine.