‘Investment in energy projects to create win-win situation’

ISLAMABAD: Expressing their optimism about investment in Pakistan, the visiting Chinese businessmen have said the option of investing money here is not only viable but will also create a win-win situation for the people of two countries.
The very encouraging signs about investment in Pakistan had been unprecedented, as the relations between the countries were cordial and such bonds, in fact, offered a solid guarantee for successful execution of the projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said Jiang Xue Ming, the chairman of Orient Evertrust Capital group, while talking with The News on Sunday.
“Since Pakistan and China have excellent relationship, we feel our investments in this country are fully safe and very much rewarding,” said Ming who is touring Pakistan as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit.
A large group of Chinese investors is currently visiting the federal capital to formally ink some 50 accords worth $46 billion on the sidelines of the Chinese president’s visit. The top management of all Chinese companies has already reached Islamabad and is meeting with government officials for timely and speedy implementation of agreements.
The Orient Group is spearheading investment in Thar Coal in collaboration with the Shanghai Electric Corporation for installation of mine-mouth coal-fired power plants having 1,400MW capacity in Block-1 of Thar coal field. The total cost of the project is $3.5 billion -- $1.5 billion for extracting the coal and the rest for power plants.
The visiting guest is also keen to explore other options for investing in energy-related projects. “There are lots of investment opportunities in Pakistan as the country’s energy requirement are outpacing the population growth,” Ming said, adding that large scale investment on long-term basis was required to overcome the energy crisis.
Ming shows willingness to invest in the Punjab and has a preliminary meeting with Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif today (Monday). “We are meeting the Punjab CM to have first-hand information about their plans,” he said, adding that “possibilities are being explored to establish coal-fired power plants in the province.”
Talking about various sources of primary energy for meeting the future electricity needs of Pakistan, Global Mining China CEO Weikai Gao, another high profile businessman, said coal was vital to achieve the objective. “We want that the authorities here take full advantage of 175 billion tonnes of coal reserves discovered in Thar, Sindh.”His entity happens to be the parent company of Sino-Sindh Resources, a joint venture working on coal extraction from Block-I of Thar.
About investment in energy sector, he said one of the plans was to expand the coal mining and increase power generation up to 4000MW from Block-I. “Later, we will look into possibilities to export the dry coal, if things go smoothly and as per plan.”
Replying to a question, Gao did not foresee any obstacle from legal point of view, keeping in mind the past controversies over foreign investment. “We believe in the judicial system of Pakistan and we believe in the long lasting Pakistan-China friendship.”
He vowed to complete first phase of power generation plant by 2018 in Thar, saying “this source of energy is one of the cheapest in the world.” He added that the investment in Thar coal would greatly help in drastically changing energy mix and thus providing relief to consumers.