‘Govt resolved to assist KE meet growing power demand’

KARACHI: The federal government is resolved to work with K-Electric (KE) to address the power challenges in Karachi keeping in mind the growing power demand of the city, a minister said.

“It's good to see a concerted effort being made by KE to meet Karachi's power demands,” said Ali Zaidi Minister for Maritime Affairs during his visit to K-Electric's Bin Qasim Power Station 3 (BQPS-III).

“It's also encouraging to note that this plant will be running on RLNG which is environmentally friendly, and the additional power will boost industrial productivity and drive a corresponding growth in the activity at our ports.” According to a statement, the minister was apprised of the progress on the $650 million mega project which would add almost 900 MW of electricity to Karachi's power supply.

The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of Port Qasim Authority, Rear Admiral (R) Syed Hasan Nasir Shah HI(M), and members of the industrial community from Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry (BQATI).

The minister and KE’s senior management discussed the status of industries in the Port Qasim area and the measures being taken to facilitate existing industrial consumers and future growth in the area.

Reports indicate that Karachi continues to grow at a faster rate in comparison to the rest of the country, and the city will experience a correlated increase in demand for electricity. As per KE’s estimates, there is an anticipated 700 MW of growth in demand in the next few years, with almost half of this coming from industrial consumers.

CEO K-Electric Mr Moonis Alvi said, "We are pleased to host the honorable minister at our plant and show him first-hand the progress and scale of work we are undertaking”. “BQPS-III testifies to KE's commitment to Karachi, and we appreciate the support of the Ministry of Energy, NEPRA, and associated departments of the federal government in enabling us to make this a reality."