ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated first 660 megawatts unit of the Sahiwal Coal Power Project, one of the early harvest projects of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The prime minister was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Governor Muhammad Rafiq Rajwana, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq and State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali when he unveiled the plaque of the project.
The prime minister also visited the Control Room and different portions of the power plant wherein the Chinese engineers briefed him about the functioning of the plant.
The ground breaking ceremony of the project comprising of two 660MW plants with a total capacity of 1,320MW was held on May 30, 2014.
Executed by M/s Huaneng Shandong Ruyi Pakistan Energy Private Limited, the project had already been connected to the national grid since May 12, 2017.
The power plant is expected to start generating 1,320 MW from first week of June this year which would also be six months before the planned schedule.
Built as a latest state of the art technology Supercritical Coal Fired Power Project, the power plant was is environmentally compliant with high thermal efficiency to ensure low fuel consumption.
The annual power generation from the project is expected to exceed 9 Billion kWh which will significantly contribute in alleviating energy crisis in the country. Being close to the load centers, the project will improve grid stability and reduce line losses.
Both the Federal government and the Punjab government have provided full support to project company in completing its activities.
The Punjab government extended loan facility to Pakistan Railways for construction of spur line from nearest railway station to the Project site and Coal is being successfully transported to the project site.
Sahiwal project has started delivering 660MW from unit # 1 to National Grid from May 12, 2017.
With regards to Human Resource capacity building, 190 Pakistani young engineers trained at China have been employed for plant operations.
