KARACHI: Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi visited K-Electric’s Bin Qasim Power Station 3 (BQPS-III) on Monday and was apprised of the progress on the USD 650 million dollars mega project which will add almost 900 MW of electricity to Karachi’s power supply.
The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of Port Qasim Authority, Rear Admiral Syed Hasan Nasir Shah (retd) HI(M), and members of the industrial community from Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry (BQATI). The minister and KE’s senior management discussed the status of industries in the Port Qasim area and the measures being taken to facilitate existing industrial consumers and future growth in the area.
Reports indicated that Karachi continues to grow at a faster rate in comparison to the rest of the country, and the city will experience a correlated increase in demand for electricity. As per KE’s estimates, there is an anticipated 700 MW of growth in demand in the next few years, with almost half of this coming from industrial consumers.
Speaking on the visit, Minister for Maritime Affairs said, “It’s good to see a concerted effort being made by KE to meet Karachi’s power demands. It’s also encouraging to note that this plant will be running on RLNG which is environmentally friendly, and the additional power will boost industrial productivity and drive a corresponding growth in the activity at our ports. The Federal Government is resolved to work with KE to address the power challenges in Karachi keeping in mind the growing power demand of the city.”
BQPS-III is among the fastest projects of its kind to be commissioned, with work progressing swiftly since December 2019. Over 4 million man-hours have been employed in bringing the project online as quickly as possible to meet Karachi’s growing power demand.
The first unit of 450 MW is expected to be energized as soon as possible and the second unit will follow soon after.
BQPS-III is utilizing the latest in power generation technology and will be among the top 5 highest efficiency plants in the country upon completion. In August this year, KE entered into an historic Gas Supply Agreement with Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) for the provision of 150mmfcd RLNG for the project. This is the first time that a government entity is signing a GSA with a private company.
The signing ceremony, conducted in Islamabad, was witnessed by Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and SAPM Tabish Gauhar.
CEO K-Electric Moonis Alvi said, “We are pleased to host the Honorable minister at our plant and show him first-hand the progress and scale of work we are undertaking. BQPS-III testifies to KE’s commitment to Karachi, and we appreciate the support of the Ministry of Energy, NEPRA, and associated departments of the federal government in enabling us to make this a reality.”
KE has been working actively to bolster its infrastructure with an investment of over PKR 400 billion since privatization. This has enabled the company to double its transmission and distribution network and also bring down line losses to approximately 17 percent at the close of FY21.
The company is working closely with the federal government and associated ministries under the guidance of NEPRA to build interconnections to draw additional power from the National Grid which will further support Karachi’s industrial and economic development.—PR
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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