ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday anno­unced the financial closing of a 1,263-megawatt power project of the Punjab government to be located near Trimmu Barrage, Jhang.

This is so far the largest RLNG-based power generation project in Pakistan and is being developed under Power Generation Policy 2015.

The financial closing ceremony was witnessed by Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik. This was the major project that came under criticism during the PML-N tenure as various relevant government agencies considered it be over and above the needed capacity.

Financial closing documents were signed by Managing Director of Private Power & Infra­structure Board (PPIB) Shah Jahan Mirza and Chief Executive Officer of PTPL Akhtar Hussain Mayo.

The project is being developed as an independent private producer (IPP) mode through Punjab Thermal Power Ltd (PTPL), a private limited company owned by the Government of Punjab through Energy Department.

This is the fourth mega project in Punjab to be based on imported regasified-liquified natural gas (RLNG) and second project of Government of Punjab through its own resources, the first being the Bhikki Power Plant, which has already entered full-fledged combined cycle commercial operations and has generated over 9.3 billion units during last year.PTPL project is being financed through 75pc commercial debt arranged from local banks which include National Bank of Pakistan, Bank of Punjab, United Bank and Habib Bank while the total cost involved in development of this project is $708 million.

Utilising state-of-the-art technology, the plant has the design efficiency of 61.16pc which is rated amongst highest efficiencies in the world. The Power Division said the project would result in fuel-saving of billions of rupees to the national exchequer during 30 years project life period while reducing overall tariff.

Despite delay in financial closing and commissioning of project due to Covid-19 implications, the project company kept on working on construction of plant by injecting its own equity with continued support from the federal government and has so far reached an advanced stage with over 80pc construction works. Efforts are being made to bring the project online by October 2021 on open cycle mode and on combined cycle mode by June 2022, the Power Division said.

Upon commissioning, the project is expected to also help stabilise and balance the transmission system to improve uninterrupted supply to Faisalabad and adjacent areas. The project will generate more than 3,000 employment opportunities during construction phase while 2,000 during its operations, it said.

Mr Hammad said the country’s energy issues were complex and multifaceted. “This project will add to the low-cost electricity in the country and benefit people at large,” he said, adding over 1200MW RLNG plants near Trimmu will also improve voltage and electricity flow in the Faislabad and surrounding region.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2021