INSTALLATION OF WHR PLANT: 'It's a joyous moment for the entire PCL team'

Inauguration of the Waste Heat Recovery Plant (WHRP), having a potential to produce 12 MW electricity, was formally celebrated on Saturday at the Pioneer Cement Limited (PCL) at a simple but impressive ceremony.
The 'WHR'plant was built and commissioned in a record time of 15 months which is saving Rs 1.5 million per day to the Company thus adding to the financial benefits for the stakeholders. Usually construction of this type of Waste Heat Recovery Plant takes 17 to 18 months but with joint efforts of the Chinese and PCL engineers, civil and mechanical contractors, PCL achieved this distinction in 15 months' time.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by the Group Chairman Habib Ullah Khan, Director Aly Khan, Chief Executive Officer Syed Mazher Iqbal Vice President of CITIC Heavy Industries Company plant supplier, local MNA Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, Deputy Commissioner Khushab Behzad Adil, and Assistant Commissioner Khushab Asma Ijaz Cheema, local notables and large number of PCL employees.
General Manager Works Ahmed Abid Mukhtar welcomed the Group Chairman and the notable guests to the occasion. He gave a brief of the project completion and the achievement by the team.
Adviser Technical Sheikh Javed Elahi speaking on this occasion highlighted the salient features of the plant. He said that hot gasses at temperature of 300 to 350 degree Celsius are exhausted from the cement kilns. Technology has been developed to recover the surplus energy form hot gases, convert in to mechanical energy and finally to electrical energy.
He said recovery process from this plant will add to process efficiency, decrease cost of energy consumption, having positive environmental impact, thermal anddust emissions are considerably reduced as most of the heat energy is recycled.
Qiao Wencun Vice President of CITIC- China, speaking on the occasion of project completion in record time, termed it a result of well-co-ordinated efforts of all the stakeholders including those who performed civil, mechanical and electrical installation. He said that the contract was signed in June 2015 and they took only six months for engineering design and delivery of complete equipment including turbine which finally started working in December, 2016. He was happy to note that the plant was producing more than the design capacity.
PCL Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Syed Mazher Iqbal said that it was a joyous moment for the entire PCL team to celebrate the installation of 'Waste Heat Recovery Plant' in record time. He said that at present this plant was producing over 6 MW Green Energy and beneficial for the Company in shape of savings in power and is environmental friendly. He said that no coal or fossil fuel is consumed to generate electricity from WHR, thus have no adverse environmental impact,while it was also a humble contribution to the government's efforts of reducing power shortage in the country.
Syed Mazher Iqbal, however, was concerned about the roads leading to the Plant from Khushab. The road net work is in shambles from Mitha Tiwana to Chenki Village. He emphasised that the local administration may review and add to their development program to reconstruct the roads on high priority.
Group Chairman Habib Ullah Khan expressed his happiness to note that the installation of the plant was completed in a record time and congratulated the whole team on this remarkable achievement. He said that last nine years were very difficult in the global economy. Lots of ups and downs as a result of global depression had tremendous pressure on industries in Pakistan.
He said that Pioneer team took the challenge to revive this dying plant and put in fresh resources and assembled right team which sailed it through the Tsunami and became a sustainable organisation.
He said that the Pioneer Group was looking forward to many new ventures in future including adding a new cement production line of 8000 tons per day capacity at existing site of Pioneer Cement Limited. He also talked about many other projects took by his team and turned them in to sustainable organisations from the brink of bankruptcy.