Govt bans issuance of LOIs for hydropower projects

The Federal government has imposed an immediate ban on issuing Letters of Interest (LoIs) for hydropower projects until guidelines for the future are established. The move follows a probe into the sale/purchase of LoIs.

The Executive Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council formed a Working Group to review provincial hydropower projects at the LoI stage. A meeting discussed the formulation of guidelines under the Power Generation Policy 2015 for transparent LoI issuance by provinces.

The IGCEP criteria for project inclusion/exclusion is under review due to identified flaws. A Committee has been set up to monitor the quality of hydropower projects, and no new LoIs will be issued until guidelines are approved. Another Committee is investigating provincial LoI mechanisms and probing issues related to sale/purchase of LoIs.