ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will inaugurate 747 MW Guddu and 404 MW Uch II thermal power plants on April 21 and 25, 2014 respectively, official sources told Business Recorder.
A team of senior officials of Water and Power Ministry has already reached Guddu power plant to finalise the arrangements for plant’s inauguration.
Ministry of Water and Power and its attached departments worked day and night to bring gas-fired Uch II 404 MW and 747 MW Guddu thermal power plants online to help ease power outages in summer.
Joint Secretary Water and Power Ministry Aftab Ahmad Nadeem spent months to streamline the Guddu power plant and remove all faults. The sources revealed that recently an expert of General Electric (GE) from Egypt had arrived to remove the tripping fault.
The sources said Managing Director Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Noor-ul-Islam Zuberi, also actively worked on 404 MW Uch-II, near Dera Murad Jamali (Balochistan) to start commercial operations.
The sources said testing of first unit of 263 MW of 747 MW combined cycle power plant at Guddu has commenced by E&P contractors. “We hope the first unit will start commercial operations during the first week of current month, whereas other two units will commence in April and May 2014,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
According to sources, initially the most modern plant will operate on simple cycle; however, work will continue side by side to convert it on a combined cycle.
The government is also expecting that 425 MW Nandipur thermal power plant would also commence commercial operations in May 2014. This implies the government will be able to add more than 1500 MW electricity to the national grid before June 2014.
Nandipur Power Project is an under-construction combined cycle thermal power plant located at Nandipur near Gujranwala. Being constructed by the China Dongfang Electric Corporation, the project is estimated to be completed by December 2014. Upon completion, the project will generate 425 MW of electricity. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 57.38 billion ($574 million).—MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
