Beyond opportunities.

Karachi has been prey to nu merous issues, one of which has been the electricity short-- age. To address this prevailing problem, the electricity company operating in Karachi has expanded its operations and network to meet the ever-growing appetite of the city. For many businesses, growth signals success, and thriving businesses reflect citizens' socio economic uplift. It creates new job opportunities, brings in more customers, and generates greater output and productivity. For instance, investments in power projects are long commitments involving millions of manhours of work. And the utility sector's energy consumption rose from 75.2 percent (2001) to 99.65 percent (2019) in the last 18 years, reflecting almost a hundred percent energy consumption. Notably, with a rise of 0.8 percent from the previous year, the industrial growth in 2020 was 7.9 percent of the GDP, which implies a broader reliance of Pakistan's industry on the energy sector. As the network of its power grid expanded from Bin Qasim to the KKI grid, so did its infrastructure, which has led to a massive improvement in the system's stability and reliability for consumers to meet current and future demands. More than 300000 customers will benefit from the additional supply of this grid.

It will help in the achievement of the plan to build more interconnections to channel 2050 MW, with several other advantages that branch out for the larger purpose, contributing to the macroeconomic indicators. The grid will contribute 1 percent, equivalent to $3 billion, to Pakistan's GDP. The construction, standing at 40 acres of land, entails an enormous infrastructure that was required to meet the huge demand, resulting in numerous job opportunities for the labour force. It is known to have created more than 200 jobs in the city, for the creation and maintenance of the said grid. Unemployment has been a chronic issue that has riddled Karachi for a long and the organization's plans for network expansion somewhat contribute to lowering the unemployment rate. On the completion of the grid, Karachi will have more electricity, which is a driver for any industrial growth. And the multiplier effect of utility sector growth is essential to developing the industrial sector and its sound economic growth.

Business growth hence stands as a prerequisite for increasing productive employment and labour productivity-because there is usually a need to increase both the number of jobs and productivity, as the...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT