ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will inaugurate 747-megawatt thermal power plant today at Guddu.
According to the Ministry of Water and Power officials, the project comprises 747 MW combined cycle power plant consisting of two gas turbines of 243MW each, two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) followed by one steam turbine having a capacity of 261 MW.
Two 243-megawatt thermal power plants had started power generation on 15 March and 15 April, this year, respectively, while remaining one will start commissioning from May 15.
Located in Sindh on the west bank of River Indus in the vicinity of Guddu Barrage, the project is approximately 70-km west of the city of Sadiqabad (Punjab) and ten kilometers east of Kashmore.
According to sources, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif is expected to participate in the ceremony.
According to officials, the project was approved in 2008 but delayed due to various reasons. The present government persuaded the Chinese company and restarted the project on the same cost as it was in 2008, the officials said. The project cost is Rs 60 billion and is sponsored by Chinese Exim Bank.
Harbin Power Engineering China is the contractor, while Albario Engineering Private Limited (AEPL) is a strategic partner with Harbin Engineering, China for this 747 MW CCPP project.
According to officials of AEPL, the plant has a gross capacity of 747 megawatt, with gross efficiency of 56.4 percent, technology is combined cycle while the equipment used in this project is efficient 9FA Gas Turbines from General Electric, USA.
It is claimed that this new equipment will provide a tremendous saving due to almost double electricity production, with improved availability parameters. Payback period of Guddu 747MW project is estimated less than 4 years. The ministry is also set to rehabilitate the existing thermal power station at Guddu, which is not producing electricity to its full potential. Rehabilitation will be completed in next one and a half years, it was learnt.
It was pertinent to mention here that the project was conceived earlier and in 2005 its cost was calculated at Rs 31.242 billion, almost half of the exiting cost.