- Khawaja Asif says govt to begin two coal power generation projects in Thar
- Letter of Interest issued to 660MW coal power project
Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Thursday said the government was committed to utilising all resources for power generation, adding that abundant coal reserves remain largely unexploited and the government was now focussing on tapping these resources and making Thar coal the country’s main energy producer.
Addressing reporters after witnessing ceremony in which the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) issued Letter of Interest (LoI) to EngroPowergen Limited (EPGL) for development of 660 MW Thar Coal Power Project.
Asif said that it is the government’s priority to develop Thar coal and utilise it on commercial basis. He said that Thar, which is presently a drought and famine-hit region, would become the country’s energy capital after completion of the power projects.
On the power sector, the minister said that due to effective measures taken by the present government, the duration of load shedding has been reduced to three to four hours.
“Concrete steps are being taken to reduce the transmission and distribution losses,” he said, adding that recoveries had improved and circular debt issue was also being resolved. He said that some power projects would also be initiated on LNG and would be completed in three years.
Earlier, PPIB issued LoI to EngroPowergen Limited for the development of 660 MW Thar Coal Power Project.
The document was signed by PPIB Managing Director Shah Jahan Mirza and EPGL CEO Shamsuddin Shaikh.
The PPIB Board in its recent meetings accorded approval for processing the subject project under the “Guidelines for setting up of Private Power Projects under Short Term Capacity Addition Initiative-August 2010” and approved issuance of LOI to the sponsors upon fulfillment of all requirements as per the Guidelines.
EngroPowergen will develop a project of 660 MW (2 x 330 MW each) utilizing indigenous Thar lignite coal to be supplied by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company which is the lease holder of Thar Block-II.
The project is the first and pilot project to utilize Thar coal for power generation and its development will reduce Pakistan’s dependence on costly oil based power generation thus saving millions of dollars of foreign exchange. It is expected that the project will start its commercial operation by December 2017.
