China hoped that the successful commercial operations of a $2 billion 1,320MW coal-fired power plant will meet electricity needs of the millions of people.
Commenting on its successful operation, a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang said here on Tuesday, “It is an important energy project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which can meet the electricity demand of millions of Pakistani households.”
The project has been set up by the China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
The spokesperson said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a landmark project for pragmatic cooperation between the two countries. China is willing to work together with Pakistan to firmly promote the construction of corridors, enrich and expand the connotation of corridors, achieve high-quality development of corridors, and bring more and greater benefits to the people of the two countries and the wider region.”
According to officials in Islamabad, the Hub power plant developed in record time, as per schedule and within projected costs. The project’s two units achieved synchronization with the National Grid on December 28, 2018 and May 28, 2019, respectively, while the Integrated Coal Jetty became operational in December 2018 with arrival of the first shipment of coal.
“The successful completion of plant has fortified the dream of energy independence of Pakistan. The Pak-China synergy has resulted in engineering excellence and has fulfilled our promise of providing Pakistan with affordable and ample energy,” said Khalid Mansoor, CEO HUBCO.
It is important to note that the project has also delivered on various social commitments for improving the lives of the local community of Hub and Lasbella. Together with its partners, CPHGC has set up a school in Gadani, a floating jetty for fishermen in Abbas Village and has conducted various training and development programmes for the local youth of Balochistan.
The Pakistani principal of the project, the Hub Power Company Limited, currently produces over 2,920MW through its four plants spread over Balochistan, Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
HUBCO is the only power producer in Pakistan with four projects listed in the CPEC out of which three are under-construction namely Thar Energy Limited (TEL) and Thalnova Power Thar (Pvt.) Ltd. and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) at Thar Block II and after the completion of these projects, the power generation capacity of the company will enhance to over 3,580MW.