Wartsila, a leading supplier of flexible power plants and services to the decentralised power generation market, has been awarded operation and maintenance (O&M) agreements by the Nishat Group of companies for two of its power plants in Pakistan.
The 5-year agreements call for Wartsila to operate, maintain, and supply all labour and spare parts for Nishat Power Limited (NPL) and Nishat Chunian Power Limited (NCPL) plants. NPL and NCPL are independent power producers (IPP) supplying electricity to Pakistan's national grid.
Each of these two plants will utilise 11 Wartsila 18V46 engines and a steam turbine to produce total electrical output of 200 mw. Both the NPL and the NCPL power plants are located near the city of Lahore, and are scheduled to become operational in the third quarter of 2009 and first quarter of 2010, respectively.
"Wartsila and the Nishat Group have worked together as one team throughout the development of both these projects, which are now undergoing installation and commissioning. We are very happy with the level of support that we have received from Wartsila, and have been extremely satisfied with the company's products and services. This experience encouraged us to award operations and maintenance agreements for both the projects to Wartsila," says Mohammad Mansha, Chairman of the Nishat Group.
Wartsila already has a strong presence in Pakistan, with nearly 1800 mw of Wartsila power plants, either in operation or under construction. The Nishat O&M orders mean that more than half of this output will be operated and maintained by Wartsila's own personnel under O&M agreements.
"We have supplied the power plants for several businesses belonging to the Nishat Group, including these two plants. Wartsila has an O&M agreement for the 33 mw captive power plant at DG K Cement, which is also a part of the Nishat Group. We are delighted and honoured to continue our excellent relationship with Nishat. Our proven track record in Pakistan, together with our local service support and capabilities are key factors in Wartsila being entrusted with the operational responsibility for these two power plants," said Christoph Vitzthum, Group Vice President, Wartsila Services.
Wartsila O&M agreements are tailored to the needs of its customers. The O&M agreement programme is designed to cover all aspects of operating and managing an installation, including O&M planning, day-to-day operation, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, administration, human resources and training, technical support, logistics management and security. This comprehensive programme enables the plant owner to focus on the company's core business, whilst Wartsila ensures optimal plant performance throughout the complete operational cycle, from receiving fuel to supplying energy.
Globally, Wartsila operates close to 140 power plant installations in 30 countries, supplying a total of close to 4700 MW of power. The Nishat Group of Companies is present in several of Pakistan's major business sectors, including textiles, cement, banking, insurance, paper products and aviation. Now the group is venturing into power generation through the establishment of NPL and NCPL.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009

Comments

Comments are closed.