Sindh govt inks $190m water supply deal for Thar coal project
The Sindh government on Thursday signed a 25-year Concession Agreement of $190 million with EnerTech Holding, a Kuwait state-owned company, for the provision of industrial-use water to Thar coal power project.
The 61-kilometre pipeline extending from the Nabisar town of Umerkot in Tharparkar will deliver 45 cubic feet per second (cusec) water to Thar Vajihar area.
The EnerTech Holding Company, following an MOU with the Sindh government, was awarded Letter of Interest (LoI) to develop the Nabisar-Vajihar water supply project for water supply to Thar power project which was a strategic project for Pakistan.
The project would ensure the supply of industrial water for coal-based power sector and it was important for the development of power infrastructure project, said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, adding the project was envisaged to be completed on fast-track basis and EnerTech has developed the project to date in a record time and would be completed within 12 months of financial close.
CEO of EnerTech Yasser Malik told the chief minister that the financial close was expected in July and the construction would be started in same month also. On behalf of the Sindh government, Secretary Irrigation Saleem Khuhro and CEO EnerTech Water Company Yasser Malik signed the concession agreement. EnerTech Holding Company was fully owned subsidiary of National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC), which in turn was a fully owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the State of Kuwait.
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The 25-year concession agreement related to the processing and supply of 45 cusecs water from Nabisar through a 61 kilometer pipeline to Vajihar. The project would also encompass the construction of reservoirs at Nabisar and Vajihar to ensure storage of water for a cumulative period of 175 days.
The project has been developed on a fast-track basis by EnerTech Holding Company and the government of Sindh in a period of twelve months. The quick project development timeline underscores EnerTech Holding Company's commitment to invest in critical infrastructure projects that were deemed strategically important.
The Chief Executive Officer of EnerTech Holding Company, Abdullah Al Mutairi stated "this is a strategic project for EnerTech, developed in partnership with Sindh government. "We are pleased to have developed a sustainable and critical project on a fast-track basis during the coronavirus pandemic," he said and added "this success depicted EnerTech's best capabilities in infrastructure project in Pakistan."
The signing ceremony was attended by Council General of Kuwait Salim Yusif Al-Hamdan, CEO EnerTech Water Yasser Malik and COO Usman Ahsan, and MD Pak-Kuwait Investment Company Mubashar Maqbool, said a press release.
From Sindh government, Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal, Minister for Local Government Nasir Shah and from Kuwaiti side, Deputy Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Turki, Ambassador of Kuwait Nasar Abdul Rahman J Al-Mutairi, Pakistan's Ambassador to Kuwait Syed Sajjad Haider and CEO EnerTech Holding Company Kuwait Abdullah Al-Mutairi witnessed the signing ceremony through video link.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2021.