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4.90. Pakistan relies on energy imports due to lack of investment in indigenous resources of hydro, natural gas, and lignite. The Government had decided to stop building new coal-fired power plants to protect the environment; according to the authorities this is not the current policy objective in this area. (...) The Government recently adopted a long term plan to increase power generation capacity, i.e. the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP). The Plan aims to increase the share of renewable energy in power generation (i.e. up to 30% electricity from variable renewable energy sources). Moreover, several large hydropower plants are under construction.

4.110. The State plays an important role in the electricity generation, transmission, and distribution process. The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), a state-owned enterprise (SOE), generates hydroelectricity, while state-owned generation companies (GENCOs) generate thermal power. Independent power producers (IPPs) continue to increase in importance. In 2021, thermal had the largest share in the installed electricity generation capacity, followed by hydro (Table 4.14).

Table 4.14. Installed power generation capacity, 2017-21:
Total installed capacity (MW): (2017) 28712; (2018) 35979; (2019) 38995; (2020) 38719; (2021) 39772
Thermal (%): (2017) 66.1; (2018) 66.8; (2019) 65.8; (2020) 65.2; (2021) 63.1
Hydro (%): (2017) 24.8; (2018) 24.2; (2019) 25.0, (2020) 25.5, (2021) 24.9
Nuclear (%): (2017) 4.0, (2018) 4.1, (2019) 3.8, (2020) 3.8, (2021) 6.6
Renewable energy (wind, solar, and bagasse) (%): (2017) 5.1, (2018) 4.9, (2019) 5.4, (2020) 5.5, (2021) 5.4

4.111. According to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's (NEPRA) State of Industry Report 2020, the addition of renewable energy projects has accelerated in the power sector recently. However, according to Table 4.15, electricity generated from renewable energy declined from 7,955 GWh in 2019 to 2,322 GWh in 2020 and 2,294 GWh in 2021. According to the authorities, the difference comes from a change in reporting periods. Difficulties facing the inclusion of renewable energy power plants include the requirement of back up power generation capacity [41], and added cost of transmission lines due to the remote locations of wind plants. The Government set a target of 20% renewable energy capacity by 2025 and 30% by 2030 in the national grid. Given that in 2021 electricity generated from renewable energy accounted for 2.2% of total electricity generation, NEPRA recently approved an Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) that aims to add new generation capacity over a 10 year horizon.
[41] The authorities indicate that renewable energy power plants generate power intermittently and thus require energy storage equipment or back-up generation capacity.

4.112. (...) Many power plants face problems in evacuation of electric power that could be generated. Under the Energy Purchase Agreements (EPAs), in the event of failure to offtake the available energy from renewable energy power plants, the plants are eligible for payments on account of Non Project Missed Volume. (...)

4.115. Under the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) (Amendment) Act 2018, the Government is required to prepare a national electricity policy for the development of power markets, and a national electricity plan to implement the policy. The authorities state that the National Electricity Policy 2021 was developed, and the Plan is being developed. In particular, the Policy and the Plan aim to address the following issues: (...) Operation of power plants on part load: Partial loading of power plants due to, inter alia (...) back-up capacity to meet the intermittency of renewable projects (...)

4.127. The following used/second-hand items are not allowed to be imported into Pakistan: (...) thermal power plants, hydro power plants (...)

4.239. (...) Pakistan's air transport grew until 2018 (Table 4.21). Thus, the National Aviation Policy aims to achieve sustainable growth and align the aviation sector with the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) strategic objectives related to, inter alia (...) environmental protection.

4.249. (...) In 2020, the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), together with other public and private sector stakeholders, prepared the National Tourism Strategy of Pakistan (2020-2030), which envisions making Pakistan one of the preferred tourist destinations by promoting tourism that is culturally conducive, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable. (...)

Table A1.2. Merchandise imports by HS section and major HS chapter/subheading, 2014-20:
(...)
15: Base metals and articles thereof: (2014) 7.6, (2015) 9.0, (2016) 9.2, (2017) 9.1, (2018) 9.1, (2019) 9.3, (2020) 9.5:
72: Iron and steel: (2014) 4.8, (2015) 5.8, (2016) 5.9, (2017) 6.0, (2018) 6.1, (2019) 6.2, (2020) 6.9:
7204: Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel: (2014) 1.9, (2015) 2.3, (2016) 2.2, (2017) 2.5, (2018) 2.6, (2019) 3.0, (2020) 3.6
(...)