Chinese, Qatari firms to invest USD 2.09 bn in Pakistan

A Chinese firm along with a Qatar-based company will invest USD 2.09 billion to build a 660 megawatts coal-fired power station in energy-starved Pakistan in a bid to improve the power situation in the country.
Sinohydro Resources Ltd, a subsidiary of state-run Power Construction Corp of China Ltd, has signed an agreement with Doha, Qatar-based Al Malaki Group to jointly fund a USD 2.09 billion coal-fired power station project in Pakistan.
The Chinese company, often called PowerChina, will be responsible for 51 per cent of the total investment, with Al Malaki taking the remainder.
Sinohydro will take charge of investment, construction and operation, state-run China Daily reported.

The project, which will serve as an emergency power station, is located near Karachi and will involve the building of two 660-megawatt power units.
It will take 32 months to complete and also involve the construction of a new port for coal delivery.

"The plant has both political and economic significance to the countries and will bring good return on investment to the company," Sinohydro Resources said in a statement.
China has already committed to build two 1100 megawatt nuclear power reactors in Karachi with USD 6.5 billion assistance.
China earlier assisted Pakistan in building four nuclear power plants, two with 300 megawatt capacity and two other with 320 megawatt capacity.

Yan Zhiyong, the president of the company of the Sinohydro Resources Ltd said Pakistan had become an important strategic partner for China in the planning of its "One Belt, One Road" initiatives, which are expected to see more cooperation between the countries.
Yan said Sinohydro Resources will form an international team to handle the financing, construction and management of the project.
By the end of last year, Sinohydro Resources had completed 24 projects in Pakistan worth a total of USD 1.2 billion, and had another 22 projects ongoing worth USD two billion in the country.
According to Pakistan's power ministry report, demand of electricity in Pakistan has surged to 14000MW, while the generation has reduced to only 7,000MW.

Refineries are unable to fulfil the demands of furnace oil, while a decision to purchase 12 cargoes of furnace oil has been facing a shortfall of Rs 30 billion.