Bilawal inaugurates 100MW power plant at Nooriabad

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday inaugurated the 100 megawatt power plant in Nooriabad.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Bilawal said the PPP has never play politics on national development.  He congratulated the Sindh government for installing the power plant despite serious hindrances created by the federal government.

He said that Benazir Bhutto had signed 25000 MW power projects during her tenure but they were scrapped by Nawaz Sharif just for his political shortsightedness and plunged the country into darkness.

Bilawal said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be ousted by the Joint Investigation Team and if he survives then the people would oust him.

The PPP chief said that conspiracies were hatched when Sindh government created power and distribution companies to fail them, which were thwarted by the successful installation of the power plant.

Murad congratulates people of Sindh

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah congratulated the people Sindh and said this is the first major power project along with its transmission line in the province.

He said the Sindh government has taken several initiatives to eliminate load shedding, and the initiative will help eliminate load shedding in Karachi to improve ndustries, employment and well-being of the residents of the city.

He added that besides major investment in the development of Thar Coalfield Block II, the Sindh government has provided major support to develop two 50 MW gas-fired power plants at Nooriabad on public-private partnership mode.

It may be noted that Nooriabad is about 85 km from the port city of Karachi and is connected by a major highway.

The chief minister said that 95 Km special purpose transmission line has also funded by Sindh government through Sindh Transmission & Dispatch Company (STDC) at a cost of Rs. 2 Billion.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said the gas is being allocated the power projects through a decision by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet. He added that the gas quantity is 20 MMSCFD of pipeline quality capable of producing 100 MW, and that 50 acres of land has been acquired by the project companies.

Ownership Structure

Speaking about the ownership of the project, CM Sindh said that the project has been established through two Special Purpose Companies (SPC) – Sindh Nooriabad Power Company (SNPC) and Sindh Nooriabad Power Company Phase II (SNPC-II).

He added that Sindh government has assumed 49 percent of the equity and the private sector contractor Technomen Kinetics has subscribed to 51 percent of the equity.

Financing Structure

Giving detail of financing structure, CM Sindh said that the project is funded through 80 percent debt and 20 percent equity. He added that the debt is being provided by National Bank of Pakistan, Sindh Bank and Sindh Government Employees Pension Fund. The Project cost is estimated at USD 130 Million.

The chief minister said the commission of the power projects will be able to reduce load shedding significantly and would provide cheap electricity to the citizens of Karachi.