Water to Thar coal field: Sindh govt, Kuwaiti firm sign agreement

KARACHI: The Sindh government signed a concession agreement of Rs30.1 billion or $190 million a 25-year with EnerTech Holding, a Kuwait state-owned company, for provision of 45 cusecs water through a 61-kilometer pipeline from Nabisar to Vajihar.

The signing ceremony was attended by Council General of Kuwait Salim Yusif Al-Hamdan, CEO EnerTech water Yasser Malik, COO Usman Ahsan, MD Pak-Kuwait Investment Company. From, Sindh government, Minister Energy Imtiaz Shaikh, Minister Irrigation Sohail Anwar Siyal, Minister Local Government Nasir Shah while Deputy Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Abdullah Al-Turki, Ambassador of Kuwait Nasar Abdul Rahman J Al-Mutairi, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Syed Sajjad Haider and CEO EnerTech Holding Company Kuwait Abdullah Al-Mutairi witnessed the signing ceremony through video link.

The project will ensure the supply of industrial water for coal-based power sector and it is important for the development of power infrastructure project, the chief minister said and added that the project was envisaged to be completed on fast-track basis and Enertech has developed the project to date in a record time and would be completed within 12 months of financial close.

CEO of EnerTech Yasser Malik told the chief minister that the financial close was expected in July 2021 and the construction would be started in the same month-July also.

On behalf of the Sindh government, Secretary Irrigation Saleem Khuhro and CEO EnerTech Water Company Yasser Malik signed the concession agreement.

EnerTech Holding Company is a fully owned subsidiary of National Technology Enterprises Company (NTEC), which in turn is a fully owned subsidiary of the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the State of Kuwait.

The 25-year concession agreement relates to the processing and supply of 45 Cusecs water from Nabisar, through a 61 kilometer pipeline to Vajihar. The project will also encompass the construction of reservoirs at Nabisar and Vajihar to ensure storage of water for a cumulative period of 175 days.

The project has been developed on a fast-track basis by EnerTech Holding Company and the Government of Sindh in a period of twelve months. The quick project development timeline underscores EnerTech Holding Company’s commitment to invest in critical infrastructure projects that are deemed strategically important.

The Chief Executive Officer of EnerTech Holding Company, Abdullah Al Mutairi stated, “this is a strategic project for EnerTech, developed in partnership with the Sindh government - we are pleased to have developed a sustainable and critical project on a fast-track basis during the coronavirus pandemic,” he said and added “this success in testament to EnerTech’s capabilities in infrastructure project in Pakistan.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021