Pakistan signs four agreements to set up 1,650 MW coal power plants

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday signed four agreements to set up two 1,650 MW coal based power plants in Hub and Thar under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

The agreements included two each for implementation and power purchase and were signed between representatives of China Power Hub Generation Company (Private) Limited (CPHGC), Hub Power Company (HUBCO) and Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB).

Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Secretary Water and Power Mohammad Younas Dagha witnessed the signing ceremony.

A 1,320 MW coal fired power plant, under the agreements, would be set up in Hub area of Balochistan with an estimated cost of over $2 billion while 330 MW project would be established in Thar area of Sindh at a cost of $500 million.

The Hub project would be completed by August 2019 while the Thar project would start generation by December 2019.

Khawaja Asif said construction work on the Hub power plant had already started and both the projects would be completed in 2019.

The government was also fully implementing projects to be completed after its tenure keeping in view the future requirements of energy, he claimed.

Asif added that the projects would open up new chapter in the energy sector as preference was being given to use local coal from Thar for generating cheap electricity.

Responding to a question, the minister said 1,320 MW power project was based on super critical technology while 330 MW power project was based on sub-critical technology.

Regarding the Thar project, he said it was a pilot project and it would attract huge investment in the future.