January 30, 2020: In a historic move, the 330 MW Thar Coal-based Power Generation Project on Thursday has achieved Financial Closing.
The Financial Closing documents for the 330 MW mine mouth lignite coal power project at Thar Block-II were signed by Shah Jahan Mirza, Managing Director Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and Saleemullah Memon, Chief Executive Officer of M/s Thar Energy Limited here.
The signing ceremony was also witnessed by the Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, with other senior officials of Power Division, PPIB and the company.
The Implementation Agreement of the project was signed on November 10, 2017. The Project is being jointly sponsored by M/s HUB Power Company Limited, Fauji Fertilizer Limited and China Machinery and Engineering Corporation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.
The total cost of the project is US$ 497 million while China Development Bank and Habib Bank Limited are the lead lenders.
The project will utilize Thar Coal supplied by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) from its 2nd phase mine and after implementation of this project overall coal price (SECMC) would be reduced from $64/ton to $44/ton, which shall significantly reduce the power tariff by Cents 1.6/KWh (i.e. around Rs. 2/KWh).
Commercial Operation of the project would save around Rs 18 billion per year on account of Foreign Exchange while Rs 260 billion per year by the year 2022 after commissioning all Thar coal-based projects of 5,000 MW. It would help reduce electricity tariff 5/KWhr Cent.
The sponsors are keen to complete this project by March 2021 and for achieving this target, they have already started construction activities ahead of Financial Closing as a result so far, 40 per cent work has already been completed.
The project will be connected with the Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line for transmission of electricity. Being developed on the state of the art coal technology, the project complies with all international as well as federal and provincial environmental standards.
The development of this project will also contribute to socio-economic uplift of downtrodden Tharparkar which is emerging as the energy capital of Pakistan.
In addition to Thar coal-based power generation projects of 5000 MW, PPIB is currently handling 17 hydropower projects of 6,550 MW in the private sector which are at different stages of implementation. By 2022, PPIB is targeting to fetch more than 6,500 MW through completion of eleven projects majority are based on Thar coal and hydro.
PPIB is also implementing Pakistan’s first private sector +660 kV Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line Project which is also the first HVDC project aiming to transmit electricity from coal projects in the southern zone to the load centres.
This project is also under construction and targeted to be completed by March 2021.
Speaking on the occasion Omar Ayub welcomed this development and expressed that the addition of 330 MW will further energize the national grid and contribute to achieving sustainability and reliability in the power sector. In the quest of harnessing indigenous and renewable potential, every single megawatt is crucial for redefining Pakistan’s energy landscape and securing its energy future on an indigenous, native footing which will eventually relinquish Pakistan’s dependence on imported fuels, he added.
The also appreciated the untiring efforts of the Power Division, PPIB and other stakeholders for achieving this milestone.
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