MANGLA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that development could not be brought through raising hollow slogans and staging sit-ins and that the “contradiction in statements and deeds should be ended”.

“Instead of raising hollow slogans, we should prove it by serving the masses. We have to work for the people,” the premier said addressing the inaugural ceremony of the refurbishment project of Units 5 and 6 of the Mangla Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant, carried out with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The premier termed the assistance of USAID for the refurbishment of the units of Mangla dam as a “wonderful example of cooperation” between Pakistan and the United States.

PM Shehbaz said that the project had been started in the 1960s, and it includes the joint cooperation of Pakistan and the United States.

He lauded the valuable grant of $150 million by USAID along with the financial support by the Development Agency of France amounting to 90 million euros besides another pledge of 65 million euros. Also, WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) contributed $178 million (Rs.20 billion) from its own resources, he said.

“This is the time to increase trade and capital, WAPDA’s technical team has also done a great job,” he added.

The premier said that the country was already facing immense challenges of economic stability, and it could not bear the heavy costs of energy import bills and thus needed to utilize alternative sources of electricity production.

He regretted that in 75 years, both democratic and military rulers were responsible for not building sufficient dams to meet the energy needs.

“Had the water reservoirs built on time, the country’s energy import bill would not have swelled to $27 billion,” he said, pointing out that “powerful lobbies and cartels” did not let materialize the construction of dams and launch of solar power projects.

He said that maintenance and upgrades of dams were of critical importance in the wake of climate change.

Recalling the previous PML-N-led government, PM Shahbaz said that in 2013, power load shedding was at its peak.

“During Nawaz Sharif’s era, the power load shedding was ended,” he said and added that the country was in dire need of generating cheap electricity as the energy import bill exorbitantly touched $27 billion.

He expressed satisfaction over the interest of the U.S. to carry out an extension programme of the country’s largest Tarbela dam.

The premier said that the 75-year-old friendship and bilateral relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. had further strengthened at the levels of trade and investment.