The Hub Power Company (Hubco) may construct 3,600 MW coal-based power plants at Hub Balochistan in a bid to generate cost effective electricity.
“We can construct 3,600 MW coal-based power plants at Hub and LNG based plants should be set up in Punjab following dip in prices,” said Khalid Mansoor, chief executive officer, HUBCO.
Authorities have already given mandate to develop two coal based power plants each with 660 MW generation capacities on imported coal-based power plant and coal jetty.
The tariff for coal based power plants is estimated to reduce by 10 cent per unit from existing 22 cents per unit.
In addition, the prices of LNG have come down to $8 to $9 per unit from over $16 per unit, paving way for setting up 3,000 MW LNG based power plants in Punjab where transportation of coal may not be feasible.
Pakistan spends around $15 billion per year on oil imports, one of the main reasons why Pakistan is desperately searching for alternative fuel resources.
Besides, Pakistan government will provide sovereign guarantee of $700 million for the Thar mining project.
Thar Projects are included under the Pak-China economic corridor priority projects list and both Mining & Power projects have been categorized as “Early Harvest Projects (EHP).”
Globally, the percentage of energy production through coal out of the total energy mix is nearly 41 percent, but for Pakistan this stands at 0.1 percent.
Sabeena Wahid