Chairman of Board of Investment Saleem Mandviwalla has proposed to one of the largest power sector investor in the country, Dong Fang Electric Company (DEC) of China to look into investment opportunities for setting up 100 to 200 MW power plants for exclusively supplying electricity to industrial zones. According to an official source the Chairman BOI made this suggestion during a meeting with a Chinese delegation lead by Vice President DEC Zhu Yuanchao, as only the Chinese investors were ready to invest in the power sector.
But the inordinate delays in the clearance of power projects and payment from the state owned Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) was diminishing their interest. Chairman BOI proposed setting of power plants for supplying electricity to industrial units which he said would solve the energy crisis in the industrial sector of Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot. Such power plants could be set up and operated without the prior approval of the government and tariffs could also be charged in accordance to the production cost and profit margins. This would also solve the issue of delay in clearance of payment from government companies. Vice President Zhu said that after a presence of 19 years in Pakistan, DEC now also intends to invest in various power sectors of Pakistan such as hydel, thermal, alternate and nuclear energy projects.
He said the company was already working on 5 hydro and thermal projects in the country, including 425 MW Nandipur thermal and 525 MW Chichonkimalian project. DEC achieved the annual production of power generating equipment for more than 30,000MW consisting of hydro, thermal, nuclear, wind, combine-cycle generating unit, presently enjoying one-third domestic market share in thermal power and two-fifths in hydro power. The company has also been diversifying its manufacturing industries to various fields such as desulphurization and denitrification, heavy-duty machinery, power transmission, hi-voltage large power frequency converter, solar grade silicon, industrial control devices, chemical and maritime equipment.
DEC has taken the lead in China particularly in contracting international power stations and a wide variety of large engineering projects, exporting complete plants and equipment to over 30 countries involving projects in diverse fields such as power generation, electric and mechanical works, power distribution and transmission, railways, environmental protection, heavy duty mining and metallurgy equipment, traffic and transportation, and communication.
