Siddiqsons power station
{{#badges:CoalSwarm|Navbar-Pakistancoal}}Siddiqsons power station is a proposed 330-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Sindh province, Pakistan.
Contents
Location
The map below shows the location of Thar Block-II, the mining area where the plant will be built in Sindh province. Until late 2017 the plant was planned for Port Qasim.
Background
On December 22, 2014, Siddiqsons Group and China's Harbin Electric International Company, the co-sponsor, signed a consortium agreement to jointly establish a 350 MW coal fired power plant on supercritical technology at Port Qasim, Karachi. The power station is planned for completion in 2019, and would be based on imported coal. The companies applied for a generation license in March 2015.[1]
The power station is estimated to cost US$550 million, and would be built on 100 acres in the area within the jurisdiction of the Port Qasim Authority (PQA).[2]
At a June 2015 public hearing for the power station, attendees expressed doubts over the capacity, authority and influence of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) to carry out post-EIA (environmental impact assessment) monitoring and ensure the project's compliance with environmental laws.[2]
In September it was that the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) had issued a Letter of Support to the project. Also, Nepra has approved the upfront tariff for the project. The project will cost an estimated US$600 million, and financial close is expected by the first quarter of 2016, according to Siddiqsons Energy CEO A Rahim Rafi.[3]
In February 2016, Siddiqsons signed a construction contract with Harbin Electric to build the plant. Construction was at that time scheduled to begin in July 2016, and would be completed Q1 2019.[4][5]
In July 2016 the government banned private investment in power projects based on imported fuel. In November 2016 Dawn reported that sponsor SEL was compelled to convert the project to local Thar lignite coal if it wanted to continue with it and bring foreign financing. The negotiations led to an agreement on extending the financial close deadline until August 2017.[6] It is now planned for June 2020.[7]
In January 2017 the government approved the transmission plan for the plant.[8]
In August 2017 Siddiqsons Energy Limited (SEL) said it planned to relocate its coal plant to Thar Block-II from Port Qasim to curtail transportation cost. A document, citing a transportation study undertaken pursuant to the requirements of the local coal tariff, said transporting one million tonnes of coal each year from Thar to Port Qasim is “not only impractical and wasteful, but also hazardous.” The change in location from Port Qasim to Thar would reduce it to 330 megawatts from 350MW. SEL has filed an application seeking a new generation licence for a coal plant at Thar Block II, after the power regulator directed the company to seek a fresh generation license for the new site. SEL has obtained a firm commitment for the allocation of coal from the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company.[9]
In January 2018 the tariff for the proposal was approved, but the revised generation license application was still under review.[10] A generation license for the project was issued on August 8, 2018.[11]
In May 2018, Engro Corporation announced it would invest $21.3 million in the project.[12]
A December 17, 2018 updated list of "Upcoming IPPs" by the Ministry of Water & Power states the plant will be commissioned in March 2022, with financial close "in progress".[13] In February 2019, the Private Power and Infrastructure Board extended the project's deadline for financial close by one year.[14]
Project Details
- Sponsor: Siddiqsons Energy Limited (SEL)
- Parent company: Siddiqsons Group
- Location: Thar Block-II, southeast of Singhara in Thatta district, Sindh province, Pakistan
- Coordinates: 24.766667, 67.333333 (approximate)
- Status: Permitted
- Gross Capacity: 330 MW
- Type: Supercritical
- Projected in service: 2022
- Coal Type: Lignite
- Coal Source: Thar coal, Pakistan
- Source of financing:
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ "Application for Generation License," National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, March 31, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Doubt cast on post-EIA monitoring of coal-fired power plant," Dawn, June 16, 2015
- ↑ "Coal-fired power plant: PPIB issues LoS to Siddiqsons," Business Recorder, September 2, 2015
- ↑ Pakistan, China to build 350MW coal power plant in Karachi, Express Tribune, 29 Feb. 2016.
- ↑ Harbin Electric and Siddiqsons to build 350MW coal-fired power plant in Pakistan, China Power, 14 Mar. 2016.
- ↑ "Govt gives up over 1,000MW of imported coal-fired power projects," Dawn, Nov 05, 2016
- ↑ "Upcoming IPPs," Pakistan Private Power and Infrastructure Board, accessed Nov 2016
- ↑ CDWP approves 18 projects of worth Rs 154 billion, AP Pakistan, 17 Jan. 2017.
- ↑ "Coal-fired plant relocated to cut transportation cost," The News, Aug 15, 2017
- ↑ "Approval of Thar Coal Upfront Tariff for 330 MW Mine Mouth Coal Power Plant," NEPRA, Jan 23, 2018
- ↑ "Grant of generation license," National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Aug 8, 2018
- ↑ Engro corporation to invest $21.375 million in Siddiqsons energy, Pakistan Today, 7 May 2018.
- ↑ "Upcoming IPPs," Private Power & Infrastructure Board, Ministry of Power, updated December 17, 2018
- ↑ PPIB extends financial close deadlines of three power projects, The News, 20 Feb. 2019.
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