The signing ceremony was witnessed by Dr Syed Naveed Ahmad of K-Electric and Wang Ji, Chairman of China Dongfang Electric Corporation. The proposed project will be jointly developed with commercial operation expected in the first quarter of 2018. Speaking on the occasion, Wang Ji said that the project would address the ongoing power crisis in Pakistan and would also contribute to lowering electricity tariff.
He said that Dongfang was one of the largest backbone enterprise groups under the direct administration of the Chinese Central Government. Dongfang is China's leading manufacturer of power generating equipment for thermal, hydro, gas, nuclear, wind and solar power plant, including all classes of boilers, turbines and generators of up to 1000 MW, with an annual production capacity of more than 35,000 MWs, he added.
The company has successfully completed EPC and equipment supply contracts in over 30 countries involving projects in such diverse fields such as power generation and environmental protection. Abdul Qudoos Chodhry of J-Energy said Asiapak's focus is on power generation industry in Asia with a special emphasis on Pakistan. Asiapak is also partnering with international companies to establish coal import and handling infrastructure at Port Qasim to initially handle up to 10 million tones per annum coal.
He said that the energy project is being developed by Asiapak Investments Limited, which is also executing the 1260 MW coal conversion project at K-Electric's Bin Qasim Power Station 1, under the name of K-Energy (Pvt.) Ltd. Asiapak is headquartered in Korea, with offices in Hong Kong and Pakistan, and has been established as an investment vehicle by the high net-worth Asian investors, private equity and pension funds. On the occasion, Syed Naveed Ahmad of K-Electric said that the project would help in meeting energy requirements of the country. "We believe going forward to address the energy crisis as the company has so far added some 1000 MW electricity (mainly from gas) just in a short span of five years into its system. While commenting on the proposed coal conversion project he said it will be a great source of cheap electricity for millions of consumers in the port city, besides bringing sustainable growth in Pakistan.