ISLAMABAD: The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) announced on Thursday the financial closing of Pakistan’s largest Thar coal-fired power project by M/s Shanghai Electric Corporation, China.
The signing ceremony was organized in the office of PPIB which was attended by Managing Director PPIB Shah Jahan Mirza, Chief Executive of the Project Company i.e. Thar Coal Block-1 Power Generation Company Meng Donghai, and Chief Executive Officer of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Karachi Branch Zhou Bo, C. Other high-level officials of PPIB, Project Company, and Sponsors were also present.
Having a production capacity of 1320 MW, the Shanghai project has been executed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It is commendable that in order to meet stringent timelines agreed upon by the Government of China and the Government of Pakistan, the Project Company started construction work in a crunch situation of COVID-19 by leveraging its equity and bridge financing and successfully completed the project on 5 February.
Shanghai Electric Group Corporation is the sponsor of this $2 billion project, while Sino Sindh Resources Limited is the coal supplier from Thar Block-One, whereas Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., China Development Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China Co., Ltd., China Minsheng Bank Corporation, and Agriculture Bank of China are the lenders of Project while Sinosure is the insurer.
The plant is based on state-of-the-art Super Critical Technology and is equipped with the latest equipment to meet environmental obligations and fully compliant with the World Bank/IFC and Pakistan EPA standards.
Second Cheapest Power Project
It is the second cheapest power project in terms of fuel cost. Through its operation, the GoP saves precious foreign exchange of around $500 million annually.
Moreover, this project considerably contributed to reducing the overall basket rate of electricity, which may be translated to around 200 billion rupees annually while expected to generate nine billion units of electricity per year.
