Lucky Cement, Pakistan’s largest cement company by installed capacity, has attained financial close on a 660MW, $1.08 lignite-fueled power plant that will be located in Port Qasim, Sindh.
The plant, when completed, will be the first ultra-supercritical power plant in Pakistan. Other planned or constructed coal or lignite-fueled power plants in Pakistan are subcritical or supercritical. The Lucky Cement power plant in Port Qasim will also be the first to use transported lignite from Thar, which is being mined under CPEC. Other plants being constructed using Thar lignite are mine mouth. Specifically, this plant will use lignite mined from Thar’s Block-II field operated by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a joint venture between the Sindh provincial government and the Engro Corporation. The lignite will be transported by truck over a distance of more than 200 miles. There have been concerns expressed about the economic and physical viability of transporting Thar lignite over long distances, especially by truck. A senior official with SECMC claims claims these critiques are incorrect.
The Lucky Cement lignite-fueled power plant in Port Qasim is financed by a consortium of mainly Pakistani banks. The plant will be constructed by Shangdong Electric Power Construction Company III (or SEPCO III) using General Electric turbines. It is expected to be operational by 2021.
