ISLAMABAD – The construction of K-Electric’s (KE) $650 million 900 MWRLNG-based Bin Qasim Power Station (BQPS)-III will commence in December.
The project has received all required approvals and is part of KE’splanned initiative with investments of around $3 billion across the powervalue chain over the next few years.
The project was conceived in 2016 and after the completion of feasibilitystudies, it was approved and publicly announced in 2017. Although theproject’s timeline has been affected due to delay in finalization of KE’smulti-year tariff, the power utility is determined to execute it on a fasttrack basis, and according to the project contracts signed last month, theplant is expected to start producing electricity by summer of 2021.
According to Moonis Alvi, CEO KE,
The project is a major private sector investment in the country’s powersector and is in line with K-Electric’s vision of diversifying its fuel mixbesides enhancing generation fleet efficiency. We have also re-negotiatedthe terms of the contract and the first unit of 450MW will be commissionedin only 19 months instead of 24 months, thus greatly reducing the time inwhich Karachi will start reaping the benefits. The 900MW RLNG project willbe a highly efficient combined-cycle plant with an efficiency of around60%. In addition to bridging the demand for electricity, this plant willalso enable us to gradually phase out some units of the aging and lessefficient BQPS I plant which have been in service for more than 25 years.After completion, BQPS-III will result in lower import costs for thegovernment, affordable power for consumers and a much smaller carbonfootprint as compared to furnace oil power plants.
KE continues to enhance its generation capacity, both through its ownsources as well as independent power producers (IPP) and remains committedto investments across the value chain, which will improve operationalperformance, thus benefitting consumers.
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It is also actively working on the 700 MW coal-fired plant being built incollaboration with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). KE hasalso actively engaged with relevant stakeholders for additional off-takefrom the national grid, however, after a detailed study, both KE and theMinistry of Energy were informed that the national grid cannot provide therequested power from the existing interconnection infrastructure, onaccount of overloading and system stability concerns.
Additionally, the company is already in negotiations with relevantstakeholders for import of 500MW from the nuclear power plants KANUPP II &III and if this additional 500 MW is made available to KE, the powerutility will invest in interconnections to replace the inefficient powerplants.
The construction of interconnection facilities will take at least two and ahalf years following approvals which will also take their due time.
Given the robust due diligence, current technical limitations to off-takeadditional power from the national grid, demand-supply gap, transmissionsituation, efficiency, and all related factors – the upcoming 900MW RLNGpower plant is crucial for Karachi.
