Meeting reviews electricity demand in Gwadar Free Zone

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has asked the China Overseas Ports Holding Company Ltd (COPHCL) to provide the exact demand of the electricity for Gwadar Free Zone and share 10-year plan for electricity consumption by Gwadar Free Zone Company in order to establish exact electricity utilisation of 300-MW Coal Fired Power Project at Gwadar.

The minister made these remarks while chairing a meeting to review a progress over 300-MW Coal Fired Power Project on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by the chairman COPHCL, chairman Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), and other relevant stakeholders.

The project was conceived under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) in 2016 that would cater to the needs of some 150,000 local people by the end of 2023.

The project aimed at improving the reliability of the local power supply that would help gradually solve the problems in current economic development and urban construction in the Gwadar region, which is being restricted by the shortage of power. “The government is committed to provide electricity for the Gwadar Free zone; however, COPHECL should tell the exact demand of the electricity in order to avoid any capacity issues in the future,” said the Planning Minister.

It is noted that all major projects under CPEC in Gwadar, including Gwadar Power Plant, the New Gwadar International Airport Project, the China-Pak Friendship Hospital, China-Pak Technical and Vocational Institute in Gwadar, the Gwadar East-bay Expressway Project, Gwadar Free Zone, and Gwadar Port would become a shining pearl in the region.

The minister further said that the government is already working on a project of two transmission lines from Iran that will increase the demand of electricity. If the demands are less then it will have a negative impact as the country is already facing an energy crisis; therefore, the exact requirement of electricity is essential to pursue the project, said the minister, while insisting the Chinese company share the long-term electricity consumption plan for Gwadar Free Zone.

The incumbent government has revived all the CPEC projects since it came into power in April this year. The previous government has stopped all the projects.