Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and a dignitary at the inauguration ceremony. PHOTO: PID.GOV.PK
The turbine will add 95 megawatts to the national power grid.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif, and chairperson of the China-based company Dang Fing Electric Corporation, which was awarded the contract for the project, were also present at the occasion.
While addressing the inauguration ceremony, the Punjab chief minister criticised the previous government for stalling the project. He said the power project's history is an unfortunate one since machinery for the project was rotting at the Karachi Port for three years.
"If the project had been completed three years earlier than the country would not have suffered a financial loss worth Rs165 billion," remarked Shahbaz.
Expressing similar views to his brother, Nawaz said negligence by the previous government with regards to the Nandipur project was "an unforgivable sin."
Referring to people who were protesting against development work carried out by the PML-N government, the premier said such people should instead extend a helping hand and stop becoming a hindrance.
"They should see that the government is building Pakistan again," he added.
At the end of his speech, he announced a three-month bonus for the team who worked on the Nandipur project from the federal government as well as another three-month bonus from the Punjab government on behalf of the Punjab chief minister.
The Nandipur project
It is a combined cycle thermal power plant which is built in Nandipur, Gujranwala. If run on furnace oil it will produce 425MW of electricity while with gas it will produce 525MW and by the end of the year it will be completely operational.
In January 2008, Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) signed a Rs23 billion contract with China-based company Dang Fing Electric Corporation for the construction of the project.
In the middle of the 2010, the project was in its final stages of completion, expected in April 2011. However, the PPP government misplaced the summary documents of the project and the summary was ignored for two years.
Consequently, the machinery worth $85 million kept lying at the Karachi port. In September, 2012, the Chinese firm, canceled the contract of the Nandipur Project, saying that they had faced huge financial loss due to the unnecessary delay in collection of the machinery as it has started to rust at the port. The company also demanded $40 million as compensation.
Soon after coming to power in May 2013, the PML-N government re-started negotiation with the Chinese firm in order to kick start the Nandipur Project.
After a few days of discussions, the company agreed to help complete the project.
One July 8, 2013, Chinese engineers arrived at Karachi port to examine machinery and arrangements were made to complete the project. Some more machinery was bought while damaged and rusted machinery was fixed immediately.
According to estimates, the cost of the project which was Rs23 billion, increased to Rs57.38 billion due to unnecessary delay.
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NandiPur project will be 200 time bigger fraud then rental power project .
Great Work, I am power engineer. Currently serving on plant in Karachi, I want to find similar job in Punjab. Is there any one, who can tell me how and where to apply for jobs in power plants. I have more than 13 years of experience of power plants.
Haters always going to hate.Great work PML -N, keep it up! Well PTI trolls, Keep on doing only thing your leader can do.. "troll".
@Lunacyassailam: So you actually smell people to recognize them? Why I am not surprized at "Indians and dogs not allowed" logic of the British..
@Wali: At least Nawaz Sharif is helping to build things in Pakistan. Great work; Keep it up!
ET you changed my previous comment and published it, is it not a kind of plagiarism???
This project is a $124 million scam. People of Pakistan are being cheated here. For further details read: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-24040-Ex-MD-Pepco-exposes-Rs15-billion-Nandipur-project-scam
ppl arguing over gas, if i am not wrong and as per my informant, these turbines are designed to work on very low heating value gas and it is produced in punjab, difficult to burn due to its low calorific nature. so please don't worry.
@Waseem: Get lost with your Kala Bagh dam.
@Waseem: PTI needs to galvanize support for Kalabagh in KPK instead of fooling around with dharnas
well done mr muhammad nawaz sharif i realy feel very happy today. keep it up inshallah all pakistani people pray for u because u r the great leader of the world..thanks
In India, even our rickshaws are powered by tiny nuclear plant.
lol, the chinese guy making dua/praying.
Only just noticed.
@Sensible Bro Gas turbines doesn't necessarily run on natural gas..yes natural gas is the preferred fuel for gas turbines but they can also be run on furnace oils...The term"gas" in gas turbines power plant doesn't imply the fuel it means the working fluid is gas which in most cases is either mostly air or helium(rarely) depending upon whether you r using open cycle gas turbine power plant or closed cycle gas turbine power plants...
They have to slap their own faces on every banner.
what about big projects which can completely get rid of power issues, for example, Kala Bagh Dam.
one of the reasons Noon League criminally avoiding Hydel projects is due to kick backs and because they would be completed in 5 years time and Noon League wont be able to use it for political mileage Quite Sharmanak !!
A) To produce 1200 MW of E.CITY one needs at least 16000 Tons of Coal which translates into 80 Trains per day so who would supply The coal, May be by helicopter I guess!
B) Pakistan deliverance is in Hydel Power Pakistan has sites which can produce in excess of 35000 M.W but Noon League not interested because of kick backs , please confirm from world bank and china and you would find the truth like Jangla Bus in RWP/ISB loot sale is on!!
@Lunacyassailam: Please get a global survey and ask people who they think are smell people of this planet...irritating Indian morons...
Looks like they are offering "fateha".
@M.Qasim...this project was stated by Musarraf in 2008,then the projected was slowed down by PPP ..the reason was kickback...
So a couple of points that need to be clarified. 1. It is producing 95MW right now, by the end of the year, it will reach full production. 2. The gas shortage problem is why this plant will only produce 100MW. 3. Because it is a new plant, it will be more efficient, thus less gas wastage. 4. It is a short-term solution, to ensure we meet energy demands ASAP. 5. Long term solutions like Hydro plants are in works but require finance. 6. PPP did start the project, should have been completed by 2010. 4 years and numerous losses later, Nawaz aims to rectify it and get all the praise. 7. There should have been better accountability of the losses and if there was any corruption those personnel should be reprimanded.
Well done PML N. You are starting great projects day and night. Even Imran Khan doesn't deny development projects of PML N. He deludes that PML N is doing development because of him. hahaha
@Ozair: There is no need of quick research for people with avearage intelligence. This report itself says it was started in PPP era and no progress was made. It was supposed to be completed years ago.
On this side of the border Panjab is having many thermal power plants and a single plant consume a full train 75 bogies of coal daily and to manage the ash produced is also a headach and the condition of Pakistan Railways is also not very good hence it will be better if they go for hydro power plants which produce cheap power and there is no problem of pollution. Here we every day read the news that only seven days coal is left with one plant and for fifteen days in the another.
Look at the smelly Arabs raise their hands in submission to Allah in "NANDIPUR"
Nawaz's attitude is shameful. The Nandipur scandal is the outcome of his government, not the previous government. He will always continue to blame others for his sins. Cheat!
Rs. 16.1 per kWh. Thanks for another furnace oil project. PSO approves as well.
Chinese representative raising his hands for prays...... :D
PMLN taking credit as if it is their project. Quick search on Wikipedia will reveal this project was construction started in PPP era 2008.
For the umpteenth time; we have a gas shortage in the country and we cannot afford thermal power anyway so care to tell who is going to pay for this additional circular debt generated by these 500 MW.
Our politicians are masters of "Inaugurations" only just to fool the fools.
Congratulations to all petriotics of Pakistan. Thanx to Allah & assistance of PML(N).
@Gaurav: Is someone asked the meaning of Nandi?
@fawad Any big hydro project is a long term project. For short term something has to be done. If in next 4 years, PMLN brings the load shedding to 0, no matter how, that would be a colossal achievement.
It is a thermal power plant. Nothing special about it. Pmln is making the same mistake PPP made few years ago by encouraging electricity generation through fuel, instead of cheap hydro power plants.
It is 95mega watts... Put it in perspective, it adds less than 1% of the country's electricity demands... The amount of money government has spent on advertising/promoting it would have been better spent on something better.
as a citizen of Pakistan, may I know what action was taken against those who delayed this project? why not PTI starts small scale projects in KPK to make electricity at village level with water
PPP era was a dark night....PML-N is doing serious efforts to bring back Pakistan on a right track...they are way better than PPP looters.....I hope there will be no PPP government again in Pak....