There are more questions about the Nandipur power project than there are answers
The much-delayed and over-priced Nandipur Power Plant Project evidently exposes political and administrative negligence of the government.
Inaugurated by the prime minister on May 30, the project is now almost seven years late because of technical reasons.
A combined cycle thermal plant, located on the left bank of Upper Channel Canal, in Nandipur, Gujranwala, the power project was expected to generate 425MW of electricity if run with furnace oil and 525 megawatts with gas. The Economic Coordination Council (ECC) approved the project in December 2007. It was supposed to cost US$329 million.
Thereafter, the work on the power plant commenced in October 2008 and was expected to be complete by April 2011. But, work was stopped in April 2010 and the foreign loans expired in August 2011. The project consignments were stopped at the Karachi port.
In financial terms, according to official documents, the total losses of the project are estimated at Rs164.5 billion. The Executive Committee for the National Economic Council (Ecnec) re-approved the project in July 2013 and revised the cost of the project, this time to US$58.416 million.
"The power station’s first gas turbine of 95.4MW was inaugurated in May 2014, while another will be commissioned in September, third in November, and the plant will be complete in June 2015," says Muhammad Mehmood, managing director of the Nandipur power project.
The equipment and machinery meant for the plant has been rotting at the port for the last two years and is causing a loss of Rs113 billion to the national exchequer.
The delay in the completion of the plant has begun to anger the opposition. "The prime minister inaugurated the project -- and yet it’s not complete. It is an eyewash," says Mehmoodur Rasheed, opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly while talking to TNS.
Rasheed adds the project cost announced by the government was "Rs220 million while so far Rs570 million have been spent".
The managing director of the Nandipur power project, Mehmood, says because of technical issues the inaugurated turbine will not be able to function regularly.
The director confirms the project cost has increased. "Electricity produced by this plant will be expensive due to its functioning on furnace oil," he adds.
The Nandipur project has four units and more than 60 per cent of work on the second 95.4MW unit has been accomplished. This unit will start generating electricity in July. The project will be completed by December, thus contributing 425MW in all.
Presently, efforts are being made to convert the project from furnace oil to gas because infrastructure of furnace oil is not developed.
A commission of the Supreme Court of Pakistan held in its 94-page report that the national exchequer has suffered a colossal loss of Rs113 billion due to negligence. The Supreme Court also took up the case of delay in completing the formalities.
Syed Tanzeem Hussain Naqvi, former member (Power) of Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) says the government is using stopgap arrangements to handle the energy crisis. "It will be difficult to run the project on diesel or furnace oil because of the high costs."
Naqvi urges the government to focus on hydel and coal power and small dams, instead of wasting time and money on the expensive and economically unviable projects.