KARACHI: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has granted licence to a cement producer to set up power plant with a cumulative capacity of 40 megawatts, a document said. The authority granted a licence to the Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group’s subsidiary Maple Leaf Power Limited (MLPL) for 40 megawatt- imported coal based generation facility located near Daud Khel in Mianwali district. The Nepra has admitted that the coal based generation facilities may be harmful to environment because of emission of greenhouse gases and production of ash. However, the sponsors have confirmed that the facility will comply with the environmental standards of the country. Moreover, MLPL has carried out an initial environment examination study and has also provided a copy of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, Government of Punjab, the document added. The document said that the Nepra received comments from only one stakeholder, which included Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources. The ministry in its comments submitted that in the wake of current energy supply scenario and availability of indigenous coal resources, the electric power generation licence to MLPL for its imported coal based power plant will be granted after checking the power plant design and the process the coal would go through before usage. MLPL is a group company of Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group and is owned subsidy of Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited. Kohinoor Maple Leaf Group is one of the renowned industrial groups of Pakistan having diversified businesses in the textile, cement and capital investments sectors of the country. The group consists of Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited, Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited and Maple Leaf Capital Limited and has an annual turnover of more than Rs 25 billion. The applicant also submitted feasibility study of the project and according to the said feasibility study the project is expected to utilise approximately 150,228.00 tonnes per annum (for 330 days of operations) of coal (as per required specifications). The coal will be imported from South Africa or Indonesia. MLPL intends to utilise either the existing facilities of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) or the upcoming Pakistan Bulk Terminal facilities for coal receiving and handling. The transportation to the site from the port will be done using trucks. The water requirements of generation facility of MLPL will be met through the existing facilities available at the group. In this regard, the existing arrangement which involves tube wells at site will be able to supply the required amount of water for the operation of the Plant. The proposed power plant of MLPL is based on imported coal.