Government of Sindh inaugurates Engro Block II Mine & Power Projects

April 10, 2019: Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, the Chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party – successfully inaugurated Pakistan’s first open-pit coal mine managed by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) and the first power plant of Engro Powergen Thar (Private) Limited (EPTL) to run on Thar coal.  

The successful inauguration of both the mine & power projects managed by Engro demonstrates the organization’s deep domain industrial proficiency, and also reaffirms the long-contested notion that coal reserves of Thar can be used to produce energy. 

Having discovered the coal reserves in 1992, limited work had been done on the project prior to Engro taking up the mantle and mission of realizing this dream of producing indigenous and affordable energy for the country in 2009.

The SECMC mine and EPTL power plant are part of the early harvest component of the China Pakistan Economic Framework and formally commenced their project activities in April 2016 – after the financial close of both initiatives. SECMC – formed as one of the largest public-private partnership is a joint venture between the Government of Sindh; Engro Energy; Thal Limited of House of Habib; HBL; HUBCO; China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) and SPIM whereas the EPTL power plant is a project led by Engro Energy and in collaboration with other commercial partners including China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), HBL, and Liberty.

Constructed in a record time, as per schedule and within projected costs, both the mining and power projects of Block II utilize indigenous resources to power Pakistan and have proven to be a project of national importance.

“Pakistan’s energy mix is heavily dependent on imported fuel mix which makes us susceptible to international market forces. It is, therefore, imperative that Pakistan finds an energy solution which is available, affordable and sustainable to power its growing economy; and Thar is an extremely important component of that solution”, the Vice Chairman of Engro Corporation Abdul Samad Dawood said while addressing the audience.

President & CEO Engro Corporation, Ghias Khan said “Today is a historic day for Pakistan. The ability to generate electricity from indigenous Thar coal will prove to be a game changer for not just Pakistan’s energy sector but for our entire economy. By providing affordable electricity to both the domestic and the industrial sector of Pakistan, we are hopeful that it will substantially reduce our dependence on foreign fuel mix and usher in broad based economic development in the country.”

Following the inauguration of the power plant, it will now be tested for smooth operations; eventually leading up to the commercial operations of the project which is expected in June 2019. In parallel, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a part of the Thar coal project, is also on track to achieve commercial operations in June 2019.