PQEPC benefits Pakistani economy and sustainable development

A coal-fired power plant project in Pakistan's Port Qasim forges ahead under the joint investment of Chinese and Qatari companies.

The plant, owned by Port Qasim Electric Power Co (Pvt) Ltd, has been significant in stabilizing power generation in Pakistan, which has promoted and enhanced the country's manufacturing opportunities, the company stated.

The company is owned by Power Construction Corp of China, also known as PowerChina, and investment company Al Mirqab Capital from Qatar.

The plant generated a record 9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2021 in spite of limitations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also organized chartered airplanes to help China-backed companies to restart production.

Having started commercial operations in April 2018, the project had generated more than 34.4 billion kWh of electricity by the end of 2021. Its annual energy output accounts for about 8 percent of the total supply to Pakistan's state grid.

The company had paid nearly $400 million in taxes to authorities in Pakistan by the end of 2021. It expects to pay annual taxes of nearly $70 million. The project is one of PowerChina's largest overseas investments and among the first group of power generation plant projects put into operation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to PowerChina, a leader in China's power industry.

The power plant consists of two advanced coal-fired generators that meet the World Bank's environmental protection standards and regulations.

It uses desalinated sea water in production to reduce freshwater consumption.

The company has planted 50.59 hectares of mangroves to effectively protect and improve the surrounding ecology.

Social responsibilities are among the company's priorities as it also supports healthcare, education and employment while promoting cultural exchanges with Pakistan.

It has shared engineering technologies and management experiences with local companies in Pakistan.

It has also supported the country's state grid infrastructure by providing funds, equipment and advanced technologies currently employed in China.

The plant, which provides more than 600 full-time jobs, prioritizes local people at the time of recruitment. It has offered internship programs to local university students to enhance their job-seeking skills.

It has a talent training program to ensure all new staff members become familiar with their new roles. Among the 150 Pakistan university graduates working at the plant, over 100 have received free training in power plants in China.

Some of those graduates have become leading professionals in the country's coal-fired power generation field and have been assigned to management positions.

The plant also enhanced training for high-level professionals from Pakistan last year. It saw an increasing number of Pakistani employees earn middle management positions.

The company has also organized diverse medical and educational activities to help low-income people in Pakistan. It has donated goods and materials to the country's organizations against the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has also arranged donations to help local residents in the fight against natural disasters, such as floods, since establishing operations in 2015 in Karachi.

The company has promoted cultural exchanges among employees. Pakistan employees are invited to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals including Spring Festival and Lantern Festival while Chinese colleagues partake in Pakistani cultural activities.

PowerChina released a report on its sustainable development in Pakistan at Islamabad on Nov 21, 2019, the first report of its kind released by a Chinese enterprise in the country.

According to the report, Power-China has moved forward in undertaking construction, fulfilling social responsibility, and improving China-Pakistan cultural integration through creating projects, constructing sound living communities, building ecological civilization and promoting local friendships.