12 wind power projects worth $1 billion being set up in Sindh

With an estimated cumulative cost of around one billion US dollars, 12 wind power projects of total 610 megawatts electricity are being set up at the Wind Corridor of Sindh.

Energy Minister Sindh Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh said these environment-friendly projects are being set up with public private partnership, as the mandatory prerequisites, including acquisition of Letter of Interests, Environmental Impact Study, land clearance, land lease and feasibility approval etc., have been done.

He said the companies concerned have fulfilled all the conditions of the Financial Close to get loans from banks to initiate work on these projects.

Meanwhile, an insider at Sindh Energy department said that the federal government has recently issued NOC to the provincial government to set up these 12 projects at the Jhumpir Wind Corridor.

He said the provincial government had sought NOC from the federal government to set up around 35 solar and wind power projects, to be set up across the Sindh long ago. However, the centre has recently issued NOC for these 12 wind projects. He said that there are several corridors in the province which could provide cheap power but he alleged that the centre was ignoring and creating impediments in this regard.

The companies include ACT2 Wind Private Limited 50MW, Artistic Wind Power Private Limited 50MW, Din Energy Limited 50MW, Gul Ahmed Electric Limited 50MW, Indus Wind Energy Limited 50MW, Lake Side Energy Private Limited 50MW, Liberty Wind Power-1 Private Limited 50MW, Liberty Wind Power-2 Limited 50MW, Master Green Energy Limited 50MW, Metro Wind Power Limited 60MW, and NASDA Green Energy Private Limited 50MW, TriCom Wind Power Private Limited 50MW.

In his most recent press conference, Energy Minister Sindh said that the new Alternative Renewable Energy Policy 2019 (AREP) is likely to put the fate of 6,000 megawatts of power projects to be set up in Sindh in jeopardy.