Overheads in Jamshoro Power Generation Project Surge to $274 Million
Overheads in Jamshoro Power Generation Project have shown an increase by $274 million, well-informed revealed.
According to documents, the project commenced in 2014, with a completion date of 31 March 2019, however, later revised to 30 June 2023.
The documents unveiled that so far the government has distributed $410.819 million out of the total project cost of $684.4 million. The project is a partnership between the Asian Development Bank, and the Government of Pakistan. The project intends to generate 600 MegaWatts (MW) from coal. The revised cost estimation of the project estimated an increase of $0.411 million, as per the documents.
Moreover, it was also revealed that the project needed 100 Acres of land to dispose of the ash from the power plant. In this regard, approval had been given for the procurement of land in 2014 however no progress was made.
During a cabinet meeting in August 2022, the Sindh government deferred the plan to acquire the required 100 Acres of land. Sources reported that no progress has been made by the Energy Ministry on the engineering, purchase, and construction of the second unit.
It is to be mentioned here that Asian Development Bank is helping Pakistan install a 600-megawatt supercritical coal-fired unit with emission control devices at the Jamshoro Thermal Power Station in Sindh province. The project will also upgrade power plant operations, ensure compliance with national environmental standards, and introduce coal-fired plant operations into the curriculum for technical education.
In addition, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) has a contract with WAPDA/JPCL which supplies gas for power generation at TPS Jamshoro. The gas allocation is 62 MMCF with a minimum guaranteed Gas supply of 53 MMCF on daily basis.?
Sources said that the maximum requirement of gas for three dual-fired units is around 140 MMCFD while the average gas requirement is 90 MMCFD. Furthermore, furnace oil is arranged at competitive bidding by oil marketing companies on after every couple of weeks from Karachi through tank lorries.