Musharraf sets deadline for Thar project: Coal-based power plant
By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Nov 25: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Friday expressed concern over delay in the development of the 600mw Thar coal-based project and directed a high-powered committee to remove all irritants within 15 days.
At a meeting, the president directed the ministries of water and power and petroleum and natural resources to constitute a committee, visit China immediately to hold talks with the Shenhua group and get the project going within 15 days.
“The (Chinese) investor should be back on board the project within 15 days,” a participant quoted the president as saying at the meeting.
The two ministries were asked to inform the president about those elements in the provincial or federal government who were creating hurdles in the way of the project. The president said he would not allow such elements in the government.
He said the Thal project, estimated to cost $1 billion, was of great importance to the country.
The president directed the Sindh chief minister and provincial minister for mines to complete all infrastructure-related facilities for which the federal government had already released about Rs2 billion.
The mines minister raised the issue of permission to the provincial government to start power projects of more than 50mw and attributed delays to finalization of tariff issues by the federal agencies. The president told the minister not to raise issues that could unnecessarily delay the Thar project. The federal government representatives informed the president that tariff had been finalized last year.
A government official told Dawn that a level tariff of 5.36 cents per unit had been agreed to with the Shenhua group last year following discussions with all the stakeholders.
The Chinese company had originally demanded 5.79 cents per unit for the 600mw project against Wapda’s offer of 3.2 cents and Nepra’s assessment of 4.2 cents. The level tariff was, however, increased to 5.36 per unit in October last year at the intervention of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who wanted to kick-start the project.
The sources said that the company, however, did not return to implement the project, quoting infrastructure problems and the group’s own restructuring and privatization plans by the Chinese government.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China wrote to the government that withdrawal of the Chinese company from the Thar project would be a setback for the country. The project was scheduled to generate electricity by the year 2009, extracting some six million tons of coal annually. Wapda is in the process of constructing a 500kv transmission line at a cost of Rs5.5 billion for dispersal of power from the Thar project.
Other infrastructure facilities to be developed by the Sindh government are roads, town planning, water and power supply system and airport/ airstrip.
