For Jamshoro power plant: Pakistan mulls importing coal from Indonesia

Expresses interest in procuring 4,600-6,000 Kcal/Kg coal in Jakarta meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is looking into the possibility of procuring coal from Indonesia for its coal-fired power generation projects.

In this regard, a pre-bid conference was arranged in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to procure coal for the 1,320-MW, government-owned Jamshoro power plant funded by the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

The conference was attended by a delegation of the Ministry of Water and Power, led by Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha along with Indonesian coal suppliers and members of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association.

The secretary apprised the Indonesian investors of the country’s demand of 15-20 million tons of coal a year once the plant becomes operational. “Indonesia is the largest exporter of mid calorific value (CV) coal and Pakistan expects its companies to not only supply coal but also invest and help develop Thar coal,” he said.

“Pakistan is constructing four coal-fired power plants of over 1,000MW each, which will be completed by the end of 2017. Out of the four, one power plant is government-owned while the other three are owned by the private sector,” Dagha informed the Indonesian companies while expressing interest in importing mid CV coal of 4600 to 6000 Kcal/Kg to generate power.

“We require 3.5 million tons of 4750 to 6000 kcal/kg coal annually for the Jamshoro plant alone. We will short-list 10 suppliers and also sign a ‘Coal Supply Agreement’ with them,” said Jamshoro Power Company Limited CEO Iftikhar Aziz.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Coal Mining Association Executive Director Supriatna Suhala said the total coal production in Indonesia was estimated at around 425 million tons a year but reduced demand from China had incurred a major impact on the coal price that had plunged to $50/ton. “Coal imports from China fell 30% compared to last year and as a result the Indonesian coal miners have cut production volumes by about 20%.”

However, Suhala added that the new Pakistani market was welcome news for Indonesian exporters and they would provide competitive rates to the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th,  2016.

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