LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that Turkish companies should consider launching power generation projects from solid waste in five big cities of Punjab and submit final recommendations regarding practicable projects. Talking to a delegation from a Turk power generation company in Model Town, the chief minister said that the Punjab government would provide maximum cooperation for the purpose. He said that Turkish energy companies could invest in power projects to generate electricity from sources like coal, solar and hydropower as well as solid waste. He said that the energy crisis had become a big problem for Pakistan, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government was making all-out efforts to solve it. He said that the government was determined to rid the people of load shedding, and that maximum resources were being utilised for the purpose. He said that negotiations were being held with local and international companies associated with the energy sector in this regard. It was agreed in the meeting that the Punjab government and the Turkish company would cooperate in power generation projects from solid waste in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi. Speaking on the occasion, Shahbaz Sharif said that various Turkish companies had made investment of $500 million during the previous tenure of the PML-N government in the solid waste management, transport and other sectors. He said that investment by Turkish companies in the energy sector would be welcomed. The chief minister said that friendship between Pakistan and Turkey is exemplary, and bilateral relations and economic ties between the two countries could be further promoted through investment of Turkish companies in the energy sector. He said that power shortage had become the biggest problem of Pakistan, and the PML-N government – immediately after coming into power – started taking measures on war footing for controlling the crisis. He said that the masses had given a mandate to the government to eliminate load shedding and the PML-N would measure up to their expectations. He said that instead of paying attention to generation of power, the former federal government remained engaged in loot and commission. He said that had the former rulers made efforts to control the energy crisis, the situation would not have been so serious. He said that the former government committed a serious crime by delaying the LNG project and had this project been operational, people would not have been facing the agony of load shedding. Shahbaz said that Turkish companies should come forward as their investment in the energy sector would be welcomed. He said that cooperation of Turkish companies in the energy sector could further promote brotherly and economic relations between Turkey and Pakistan. He said that the government wanted to launch power generation projects with the help of Turkish companies expeditiously and in a transparent manner. Shahbaz said that there was a vast scope of generation of power from solid waste in big cities of Punjab, and Turkish companies should consider the possibility of setting up power generation projects from solid waste and present its final recommendations as soon as possible so that work could be started on the projects without any delay. Sesly Holdings Chairman Hazim said that Turkey had also faced energy crisis but the Turk nation overcame the problem with commitment and hard work. He hoped that Pakistan would also be able to resolve the problem of shortage of energy under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif. He said that Turkish companies were working on various projects of power generation from solid waste in Turkey as well as other countries of the world. He also expressed the desire to launch power generation projects in Punjab with the cooperation of the provincial government. He said that the people of Turkey had deep love and affiliation with the Pakistani people and wanted to cooperate in resolving the energy crisis in Pakistan. pr