KARACHI: Industries and Production Minister Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiar has said that addition of 900MW in power generation capacity for Karachi is a gift for people and the industries.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate K-Electric’s Bin Qasim Power Station III project as soon as it’s completed.

Mr Bakhtiar on Thursday met members of the KE’s senior management at the company’s Bin Qasim Power Complex to review the progress on K-Electric’s mega-project Bin Qasim Power Station 3 (BQPS-III), which will add 900MW to K-Electric’s generation capacity and bolster the future of Karachi’s growth.

He said Karachi is an industrial hub for the country and the focus of his visit is to see the progress across sectors. It is encouraging to see the progressive vision that is driving KE’s efforts.

Minister reviews progress on KE’s Bin Qasim Power Station 3 project

Industries are the engine of the country’s economy and the government is committed to supporting their growth through enabling policies. There is tremendous potential for investment in Pakistan, and a robust utility supply is integral to achieving this, he added.

A 900MW plant is being built at an estimated cost of around $650 million. Work on the first unit of 450MW is 90pc complete while the second phase of 450MW is also proceeding swiftly, a press release said.

Growth in power demand in KE’s service area is expected to remain above five per cent and KE expects over 700MW of new connections in the next two years, with more than half in the industrial segment.

K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi said, “BQPS-III is a collaboration between several stakeholders on both the engineering and financing side”.

He said K-Electric has been working closely with the federal government and relevant stakeholders to establish new interconnections and grids at key locations which would enable Karachi to receive additional power from national grid, taking the total drawl from national grid to 2,050MW, which would cement the company’s mission to provide safe and reliable power to its growing customer base of 3.2m and more.

In a visit to Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), Mr Bakhtiar said the government is going to privatise PSM in order to make it profitable and to meet country’s steel requirement.

He said the government would soon formulate a comprehensive steel policy to revamp the country’s steel industry.

The minister, during a visit to National Industrial Park (NIP), said the Ministry of Industries and Production has allocated 1,500 acres of land for special economic zone which would provide one window operation to domestic and foreign investors.

He said Karachi being the largest industrial city has been facing dearth of industrial land.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021