China greenlights running of three power plants on local coal in Pakistan
Business
China assures full support concerning Panda Bonds
ISLAMABAD (Adeel Warraich) - The key developments have emerged regarding imported coal-fired power plants, during the recent visit of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Energy Minister Owais Leghari to China.
According to sources, China has given the green light to convert three imported coal-run power plants to use local coal.
This decision comes as these plants are among the most expensive in terms of electricity production in Pakistan.
The 1320-megawatt power plants in question include Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, Hub Power Plant and Port Qasim Power Plant.
All of these currently operate on imported coal and generating costly electricity within Pakistan's energy basket.
Sources indicated that China has also responded positively to the Pakistani delegation regarding the re-profiling of these three coal power plants.
It has been confirmed that a procedural framework for advancing the issues related to the imported coal-run power plants has been devised.
Chinese authorities have assured the Pakistani delegation of their full support concerning Panda Bonds.
This visit comes at a critical time when Pakistan is facing a severe electricity crisis exacerbated by capacity payments to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
Ongoing meetings between Pakistani and Chinese officials will address the conversion, re-profiling, and other related issues of the three power plants.
