As part of its plan to eliminate power load-shedding in the country by 2018, government has decided to establish 1,200 MW RLNG-fired power plant in Muzaffargarh (Punjab).
PPIB Board headed by Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif, in its 108th meeting approved the project. The decision of establishing 1,200 MW RLNG based power project at Muzaffargarh, Punjab was taken in the light of the advice of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) in its meeting held on September 15, 2016, wherein Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted ban on RLNG-fired power plants.
Federal Government is already setting up two RLNG fired power plants in Punjab near the load centres whereas one similar is being established by the Punjab government.
The sources said, Prime Minister had directed the Ministry of Water and Power to initiate the process of advertisement through PPIB for inviting prospective investors for installation of 1,200 MW RLNG-fired power plants on IPP mode which could fulfil the following requirements: (i) give assurance for single cycle operations of power plant by March 2018; (ii) be able to bring Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as partners or with given commitment to provide turbines; (iii) be willing to start installation without financial close; and (iv) be able to provide a performance guarantee for meeting timelines other than quality and standards.
On September 15, 2016 Prime Minister had directed the Ministry of Water and Power to review the generation requirement rate due to increase in electricity demand on account of industrial growth and economic activities.
Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif said that the current government believes in the policy of facilitating investors, and does not want them to face any hurdles or delays during the processing of their projects. He further added that in order to make electricity affordable, various short to medium and medium to long term power generation projects based on coal, hydro, RLNG, solar & wind are being established all across the country in private and public sectors.
Managing Director PPIB Shah Jahan Mirza gave a briefing to the Board on the 1,200 MW RLNG-based power project being processed. He stated that the said project will be located at Muzaffargarh near the existing Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Station of NPGCL having gas turbines based combined cycle technology. The power plant will have minimum annual availability of 92 percent. Open Cycle Operation is scheduled to start by February, 2018 whereas the full Combined Cycle Operation will start by end 2018. This is a viable option to address the electricity demand supply gap in early 2018 and ensuring elimination of load shedding by that time. Furthermore, due to the highly efficient and state of the art technology of the plant, this will be able to replace old and retiring power plants in the public sector. He said the RFP document for the project has been prepared and it will be advertised in the coming days, and bids will be invited through single stage, two envelope bidding approach.
