747MW plant to be completed in 36 months

LAHORE: The 747-megawatt Combined Cycle Guddu Power Project, one of the biggest thermal projects in the country fuelled by gas, is expected to be completed in the stipulated period of 36 months, if not earlier.

This was expressed in a meeting between Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) officials, led by Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema, and a seven-member delegation representing the contractors of this project, Harbin Power Engineering Company (Pvt) Limited, led by its Vice President Yang Qingli, at the Wapda House on Thursday.

The delegation is on a visit to Pakistan to hold talks with Pepco and other departments to commence work on the project. The contract for the project was signed on September 19, 2009 with Harbin Power Engineering Company and General Electric USA, at an estimated cost of Rs59.78 billion.

Eighty-five per cent of the project has been financed by the Chinese and American export-import banks while the balance would be financed by the Government of Pakistan.

The open cycle of the project is expected to be completed in 30 months while the combined cycle will take 36 months, informed Cheema.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2010.