Pakistan : China to set up 4 Coal-fired Power Plants at Gadani Power Corridor

China to set up 4 Coal-fired Power Plants at Gadani Power Corridor

China has agreed to set up four coal-fired power plants in the Gadani Power Corridor in Balochistan.

This was announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit  to the site of the corridor, which is being named as Gadani Power Park.

He said the government of Pakistan would establish the first plant at the park to attract local and foreign investors.

The establishment of eight coal fired power plants with an aggregate capacity of 5200 MW but the Prime Minister desired that its capacity should be enhanced to ten plants generating 6600 MW.

He also gave instructions for expeditious implementation of different phases of the project as the country cannot afford to lose any time in view of the grave energy crisis.

The Prime Minister said the project would cost billions of dollars and would create economic and employment opportunities for the backward and far-flung region of Balochistan and also Sindh.

Mian Nawaz Sharif said we will have to plan for the next 20 to 25 years to meet demands of 50,000 MW of electricity. For this purpose, we will need four or five power parks like the one being established at Gadani.

He said a proposal is being considered for establishment of an LNG terminal at the power park.

The Prime Minister said that  the country produced 16170 MW of electricity which was highest in the history of the country. However, the demand has also increased and the gap remains at about three thousand megawatts as was the case a few months back.

He also asked the Sindh Chief Minister to expedite work on utilization of Thar Coal.

He desired that both mining and setting up of coal-fired plants should be undertaken simultaneously so that no time is wasted.

The Prime Minister said the proposed six-lane Lahore-Karachi motorway project would also help accelerate the pace of economic development in different areas of the country.

Earlier talking to newsmen during his visit to Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi, Prime Minister said the PML (N) Government respects the mandate of all parties to put the country on the path to progress and prosperity through collective efforts.

However, he said every effort would be made to resolve all outstanding issues, including the longstanding Kashmir dispute, with India.

Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervez Rashid accompanied the Prime Minister.

-Sourced