Pak PM lays foundation stone of Punjab's 1st coal power plant

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today laid the foundation stone of Punjab province's first coal-fired power plant to be developed with Chinese assistance, generating 1320 MW electricity to meet Pakistan's acute energy shortage.
The project comprising two units of 660 MW each and being built in Sahiwal will be operational in two years, state-run APP news agency reported.
Work on the collaborative project between the Punjab government and Chinese companies to set up the plant will begin this month.
"The coal project will generate 1,320MW of electricity and will be completed in 30 months with China's assistance," Sharif said as he addressed Chinese delegates during the inauguration ceremony.

The Prime Minister said the project will not only help meet the electricity shortage but also create employment for the people of Sahiwal district and contribute to the national Gross Domestic Product.
Sharif said he met the two investors who were now building the Sahiwal power plant at the Economic Summit in Boao, China, two months back and within a short time the initial work for the starting the project was accomplished.

He said if a project can start in only two months time then there could be no hurdle in its completion in two years.
It would bring 30 per cent returns to the investors, Sharif added.

He said despite 23,000 MW installed capacity in the country, the operational capacity was only around 13,000 MW.
Sharif promised to double the power generation in next eight to ten years.
A similar power project to generate 1320 MW electricity at Port Qasim was inaugurated by Sharif a few weeks back.
The Prime Minister would be inaugurating a power project in Nandipur on Saturday.