Lucky Cement completes installation of 25MW captive solar power plant

Lucky Cement, one of Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturer, on Monday announced the successful commissioning of its 25MW captive solar power plant located in Karachi.

The development was shared by Lucky Cement in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“We are pleased to announce the successful completion and commissioning of our 25MW captive solar power plant located at our manufacturing site in Karachi,” read the notice.

The project was executed within the stipulated timelines and has commenced operations as of August 20, 2023.

“With this achievement, our installed power generation capacity for self-consumption from renewable sources now stands at 39%, including the 34MW solar power plant earlier commissioned in December 2022 at our manufacturing site in Pezu and the Waste Heat Recovery plants at both locations,” Lucky said.

The cement-maker said that the combined capacity of both solar power plants has significantly bolstered its commitment to renewable and clean energy.

“The investment in renewable energy initiatives will save costs and also reduce the country’s reliance on imported fuel. We remain committed to pursuing environmentally conscious initiatives in the future,” it added.

Lucky Cement’s profit-after-tax stood at Rs59.54 billion, an increase of over 63%, during fiscal year 2023, when compared with Rs36.42 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The BoD also announced a cash dividend of Rs18 per share during the period.

Last year in March, Lucky Electric Power Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lucky Cement, successfully completed the commissioning of its 660MW supercritical, lignite coal-based power plant at Deh Ghangiaro, Bin Qasim, Karachi.

The power plant was synchronised with the national grid towards the end of CY 2021 and achieved Commercial Operations Date (COD) on March 21, 2022.