Port Qasim Coal-fired power plant continues safe power generation amid the outbreak of COVID-19

BEIJING, Apr 30 (APP):The Qasim coal-fired power station, a project built under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework has guaranteed a safe production and fully ensured electricity demand of its consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Strict anti-pandemic protection measures have been taken for both Chinese and Pakistani employees and no case of new coronavirus has occurred so far,” Feng Kefeng, Deputy General Manager of Qasim Power Generation Company and chief person in-charge of epidemic prevention told China Radio International (CRI).

Since mid-March, Sindh province has adopted lockdown measures and a large number of enterprises have stopped working and stopped production. However, due to national economy and people’s livelihood, the Qasim coal-fired power plant, located in Port Qasim near Karachi did not stop generating electricity during the time.

He said, “Our epidemic prevention work adheres to the current epidemic prevention policy of foreign defence input, internal strong management and in accordance with the goal of zero infection deployment by the country and the group.” A check post has been set up for the security inspection of foreign personnel and vehicles before entering the gate, and after they come in, they will send special personnel to follow the whole process to achieve full closed-loop management.

“Grid and list-style management of Chinese and Pakistani personnel in the plant area, including all staff wear correct masks throughout the day, carry out regular anti-epidemic campaign, check body temperature three times a day, always maintain a distance of two meters between people at work, and prohibit more than two people from gathering after work. Every day, the work and living places of the whole plant must be disinfected,” he added.

The deputy general manager said the Pakistani security personnel stationed in the plant also played a vital role in the prevention and control of the Qasim power station.

They not only defended the safety of the power station day and night, but also assisted the project to strictly control the personnel entering and leaving the power station. To protect their safety, the Qasim project provided all-round protective materials for the Pakistani security personnel, he added.

Feng Kefeng said the management has donated 2,500 masks, more than 2,000 face masks, more than 100 sets of protective clothing and other prevention and control materials to the security personnel stationed in the factory.
“During the outbreak, we provided unconditional supplies of masks, protective clothing and other epidemic prevention materials. We disinfect the security officials living areas and office areas every day to protect the health of security personnel like caring for family members,” he added.

While doing a good job in the epidemic prevention of power plants, we are also actively helping Pakistan fight the epidemic. On March 25, Party Working Committee organized a donation activity of “Aid Pakistan and fight against the epidemic”, raised Rs 682,920 about RMB 32,520, and passed it to the relevant government departments through the Association of Chinese-funded Enterprises in Pakistan.
He said during the new coronavirus epidemic, the normal operation of Qasim coal-fired power station appears more important. Therefore, on the premise of ensuring the prevention and control of epidemic situation, the power station eliminates various hidden dangers of safe production and ensures the normal power generation of the power station.

Liu Chao, director of the production management department at Qasim Port Power Generation Co. said, “We have considered that the spread of the global epidemic may lead to insufficient coal production in the power station. The coal unloading efficiency always maintains a high coal inventory to ensure the smooth development of production.”
During the epidemic, in addition to full horsepower to speed up production, the Qasim power station also actively carried out “active and preventive” inspection and maintenance and provided a solid guarantee for the healthy and sustainable production and operation of the power station.

Liu Chao said that due to careful security measures taken by the Qasim coal-fired power station, during the epidemic, two 660MW super critical units were generating electricity at full load, and the power generation capacity was basically the same as before the epidemic, which fully guaranteed Pakistan’s electricity demand.

“Our Qasim Power Station has generated more than 20 billion kWh of electricity since the first unit in November 2017, and the annual electricity generation can meet the demand of four million households in Pakistan. As of April 28, 2020, the cumulative annual power generation exceeded 2.77 billion kWh”, he added.

It may be mentioned here that Qasim Coal-fired Power Plant invested by China Power Construction is one of the greenest environmentally-friendly power stations in Pakistan with the largest installed capacity, the most advanced technology, the lowest electricity price, and the most power generation.