This supercritical power plant will be Pakistan’s first-ever coal-based project of its kind and the approval of upfront tariff at Rs9.34 per kilowatt hour will assist the company in stepping up work on the scheme, says a press release issued on Monday.
The company - Siddiqsons Energy Limited - has entered the development and progressive phase of the project, which is estimated to cost $600 million. The financial close is expected by the first quarter of 2016.
“Our company is fully cognisant of the fact that low-cost electricity is extremely crucial for economic growth and stability of the country and coal-based energy production is the key to addressing this issue,” said A Rahim Rafi, Chief Executive Officer of Siddiqsons Energy.
Against the global average of approximately 41% of electricity being produced through coal, Pakistan was generating less than 1% of electricity through coal, despite it being the cheapest source of power generation, he said.
The group’s ventures in Pakistan include denim manufacturing, MCB Bank and Ocean Tower. It is now diversifying into power generation to help ease electricity shortages through the efficient supercritical technology that has lower cost and reduced carbon footprints compared to existing assets in the country.
The company was established in May 2014 with the mandate to enter the business of power generation.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 11th, 2015.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ