MITHI: In a move to utilise indigenous coal for power generation, Jamshoro Power Company Limited (JPCL) on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) for procurement of lignite from deposits situated in Block-II of Thar Coalfield. JPCL Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Sabir Hanif and SECMC CEO Shamsuddin Ahmed Shaikh signed the MoU at the view point of Pakistan’s first open-pit coal mining in Thar Coal Block II.

JPCL is a state-owned corporate entity which intends to build a 1,320 MW super critical coal-based power plant within the existing premises of Thermal Power Station at Jamshoro with the objective to add capacity with highly efficient and environmental friendly technology.

GENCO Holding Company Limited (GHCL) is the executing agency while JPCL is the implementing agency of the project. The project will be funded with a loan from the Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.

Mott MacDonald Limited – in a joint venture with MM Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd – is the project implementation consultant. JPCL will procure up to 20 per cent of the total coal requirement from SECMC for its proposed coal-fired power plant, which will require up to 800,000 tonnes annually as per JPCL’s preliminary feasibility study of its project and the directives of the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2017