Chinese firm awarded Thar power project

CMEC will develop the 330-megawatt plant at a cost of $498.3 million

KARACHI: ThalNova Power Thar (Private) Limited has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract of the 330-megawatt power project in Thar, Sindh to China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC), the company announced Wednesday.

The plant, which is being set up at a cost of $498.3 million, is expected to start commercial production by December 31, 2019. Consequently, the CMEC will sell power at Rs3.67 per kilowatt hour during the first 10 years of its operations, which would later be reduced to Rs1.91 per kilowatt hour for the next 20 years.





ThalNova is a joint venture, with Thal Limited and Novatex Limited as the main shareholders. It is a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power project based on Thar lignite coal and is to be located at the power park site in Tharparkar District, Sindh.

CPEC Federal Coordinator Zafaruddin Mahmood said in the statement that the Thar project would prove to be a game changer for the energy industry in Pakistan.

“One of the biggest issues of the power sector in Pakistan is expensive power generation, hence cost-effective electricity production through indigenous Thar coal will help reduce power sector’s deficit and ultimately bring down the country’s circular debt,” he said.

As per the generation licence granted by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, ThalNova will supply electricity to the national grid for a period of 30 years.



ThalNova Chief Executive Officer Khalid Siraj Subhani said this was one of the early harvest projects under the CPEC between the governments of Pakistan and China. “The federal and provincial governments have played a crucial role in the development of ThalNova and other energy projects in Thar,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to alleviate the energy crisis in Pakistan using local fuel resources.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2017.

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