ISLAMABAD - Twelve early harvest power projects, including Sahiwal coal-fired project, Port Qasim power plant and Karot Hydropower station, will be completed by 2017-18 under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and will help meet energy needs of the country.
"These energy generation projects will produce over 5000MW of electricity and overcome power demand-supply gap in the country," said the sources in the Ministry of Planning.
According to the sources, the early harvest projects involve power generation from coal, solar, wind and water.
The medium-term projects under CPEC, the sources said, would be completed by 2025, whereas the long-term projects would be completed by 2030. Development work on all projects will gain momentum with the every passing day, they said.
The existing list of power projects would be adjusted based on the discussion during the visit of the Chinese experts in current month, while the updated list would be discussed during next meeting of the Joint Energy Working Group with China.
A complete national consensus was seen during the meeting of 6th Joint Cooperation Committee, as all federating units participated in it. It gave a good message to the Chinese government and helped boost their confidence.
"The Chinese government had shown its intentions to include Diamir-Basha Dam project in the CPEC. The government is also focusing on the mega project, which will enhance water storage capacity of the country," the sources said.
The land acquisition process has been completed at the cost of Rs101 billion. The project will be completed within 8-10 years and it will help increase the lifespan of Mangla and Tarbela dams.
Regarding upgradation of power transmission lines, the official sources said that groundbreaking of Matiari-Lahore and Matiari-Faisalabad power transmission lines under CPEC was likely to be held by end of the current month.
The feasibility study for the transmission lines has been completed and land acquisition process is under progress. In addition, the Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the power transmission lines will be announced in next fiscal year (2017-18). The Chinese side has nominated China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Company (CET) and State Grid for this purpose, the sources added.
