Powering Gwadar — a question of fuel

At the last meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), the highest decision-making body of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in May, Pakistan requested Beijing to begin construction work on electricity generation projects and propose infrastructure schemes, like the Mainline-I railway project, for Chinese financing. The generation projects, according to Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, include two hydropower schemes — Azad Pattan and Kohala — and an imported coal-based project at Gwadar. The projects are estimated to cost $4.5 billion and produce 2,100 megawatts of electricity. “We have agreed to perform the ground-breaking ceremony of these energy projects this year,” Mr Iqbal told a press conference after attending the JCC meeting. He noted that the 300MW Gwadar coal-fired power project was essential to meet the needs of Gwadar and its surrounding areas.