PM Khan to inaugurate 1,320MW Hub Power Station today
PM Khan will also hold meetings with delegations of the MQM-P and the GDA.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday will inaugurate a 1,320MW coal-fired Hub Power Station in Hub, a city in the Lasbela District of Balochistan, set up by the China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Earlier today, the premier arrived in Karachi on a day-long visit, where he met Sindh Governor Imran Ismail. He is also scheduled to meet Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of Sindh Assembly, and delegations of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).
The premier was briefed on progress achieved in certain important projects during the meeting.
It is pertinent to mention here that PM Imran has refrained himself from meeting any member of the ruling provincial Sindh government. Meanwhile, a copy of the schedule of the prime minister’s visit has been sent to the Chief Minister’s House.
With an approximate cost of US $2 billion, the project is a joint venture between the Hub Power Company (Hubco) and China Power International Holding (CPIH) and a part of early harvest energy projects under the CPEC framework agreement.
A couple of months ago, the government commissioned the Hub Power Station with a capacity of 1,320MW (two plants with 660 MW capacity each).
“M/s CPHGC has successfully undergone through commissioning tests as per the agreed procedure. The engineer has certified the successful commissioning of the complex,” had read a notification issued by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) – a government-owned subsidiary responsible for procuring power from plants and selling them to distribution companies.
The CPPA had said the power producer had called for declaring its commercial operation date (COD) from Aug 17, 2019, while its engineer – SGS – had also issued certificate of initial tested capacity that came out at 1,249MW. Therefore, it called upon the National Power Control Centre (NPCC) to issue dispatch instructions to the CPHGC keeping in view the system requirements.
Separately, the CPHGC had announced that it had successfully declared the COD of its 1,320MW (2x660) imported coal power plant and integrated jetty with coal transhipment capacity of 4.2 million tonnes per annum.
The government had approved the processing of 1,320MW imported coal-based power project at Hub in November 2014 and the joint venture of Hubco and CPIH was issued letter of intent in June 2015.
In February 2016, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had approved the upfront tariff for the power project.
“The successful completion of CPHGC project has fortified the dream of energy independence of Pakistan.”
The Pakistani principal of the project – Hubco – currently produces over 2,920MW through its four plants spread over Balochistan, Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Hubco is the only power producer in Pakistan with four projects listed in the CPEC, out of which three are under construction – Thar Energy Limited, Thalnova Power Thar (Pvt) Ltd and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company – at Thar Block II. The power generation capacity of the company has increased to over 3,580MW after the completion of the latest project.
