Work on $500m Thar plant unaffected by virus: Asim

ISLAMABAD: Work on a 330-megawatt power plant in Thar is “in full swing” and is unaffected by the coronavirus, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said.

In a tweet on Friday, Bajwa, who is also the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, said: “Thar Block-2-330 MW power plant by Thar Energy Limited, HUBCO, work in full swing unaffected by Covid.” He also said there is “substantial progress” in the $500-million project, which has led to 805 direct jobs.

In another CPEC-related development, Bajwa said a ship carrying 17,000 tonnes of cargo arrived in Gwadar. In a tweet, he said the cargo was being transported to Afghanistan on 550 trucks, 60 per cent of it, through Chaman. He said this was the first time bagging of bulk cargo has been done locally instead of foreign ports.“Local employment generated and transport business boosted,” the CPEC Authority chairman said. He also followed it up with a hashtag “CPEC making progress”.