The Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) has warned the government that AES, Pakistan's 1000-1200 MW imported coal integrated port and power project, to be established at Gadani, may not take off as the Chinese contractors are reluctant to initiate work due to travel advisory, official sources told Business Recorder.
Project sponsors are finalising the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) contract, and the government is expecting that only Chinese firms would be interested in EPC work of the project because of environmental considerations associated with coal. Nonetheless, due to travel advisory, issued by the Chinese Embassy, the Chinese contractors are reluctant to visit the site to develop the final EPC proposal, sources added.
"As travel advisory may stifle the AES project, PPIB is requesting the government to prepare a proper 'security plan' so that security concerns of the Chinese government are ameliorated, and the Chinese government is persuaded to remove the travel advisory," sources said.
They said that development of a 'security plan' was discussed at a meeting in the Ministry of Water and Power as a way forward to begin work on the project.
AES also submitted a security plan to the PPIB, prepared after taking cognisance of the facts on the ground, the experience of other such operations, and sound professional judgement.
"Exact deployment plan will evolve as we move along and will change if the Balochistan government acquires the land to straighten the road from Hub river crossing to the site, as many of the potential ambush sites will be cleared in the road straightening process", sources said.
The 'Security plan' would be evolved and personnel requirements and deployment details would change, depending upon the evolving security and political situation.
For the purposes of this plan, the firm is assuming that for movement to and from Karachi, the project personnel would use the shortest route, which would be heavily guarded. At the time of movement, the responsible agencies can immediately redeploy resources to provide extra cover, wherever it is needed.
"The plan may, at times, look like an overkill; so let it be; that is the message we intend to broadcast," sources quoted AES as conveying to the PPIB.
The firm further stated that all security measures can be made part of the 'plan', subject to Nepra allowing these costs in the tariff.
The project site may be secured in three tiers in general and the numbers have been worked out on a 12-hour shift basis. In view of the security concerns, the firm intends to develop, and secure, the shortest route to the site from Hawkes Bay side, and not from Sher Shah/Hub city side. The site, in view of the security concerns, would have route protection. The site is proposed to be protected by the FC from outer cordon, whereas inner cordon security would be supplied by private security company personnel (100 percent ex-armed forces).
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