The government’s decision to sell old power plants is a good initiative. But, the way the government is going about it is wrong. Pakistan has surplus energy capacity, so there will not be much demand for power plants in Pakistan. The government should sell them directly to other countries bilateral deals or through barter deals that will give a better return. Similarly, we can also offer power plants and relevant facilities to crypto currency and data centre companies through direct offers.
The government should also ask the banks if they would like to sell the power plants to their customers in other countries through a bank lease or the manufacturers of the power plants if they will commission them in new locations. Power plants are high value and complex equipment that cannot be sold through open local bidding.
Engr Shahryar Khan Baseer
Islamabad