This refers to a letter captioned 'power shortage' published in the daily Business Recorder on 29th October 2004 which is contrary to the fact. According to the factual position, some of the redundant power plants are likely to be donated by the government of UAE to Pakistan as a gesture of goodwill.
In this regard, a formal request for acquiring these power plants has already been made at the Government level. However, a formal approval of the same is still awaited from the UAE government.
In anticipation of the positive response from the UAE government, a decision on the selection of site for the relocation of the said power plant has already been made.
Accordingly, four gas turbines with a total capacity of 120 mw will be installed each at Faisalabad and Karachi respectively,. whereas seven gas turbines with a total capacity of 120 mw will be installed each at Faisalabad and Karachi respectively,. seven gas turbines with a total capacity of 12 mw will be installed at Lahore.
Inspite of pending formal approval from UAE government, all the spadework for expediting the relocation of the said redundant plant has already been taken by WAPDA.
In this regard, the pre-qualification of the prospective firms has already been carried out and the tender documents have been issued for preparation of their bids. Besides, the confirmation about the availability of the fuel gas for Faisalabad and Lahore project has been obtained from SNGPL through the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. KESC is also in process of obtaining confirmation from SSGC regarding the gas availability for the said power plant.
The information in the letter about readiness of the dismantled power plant for shipment is totally baseless. Factually, the power plant is still standing in the same position at its premises.
The activities pertaining to dismantling, together with shipment etc of the said power plant, will be taken in hand only after formal approval of the government of UAE for donation of the said units to Pakistan, which is still awaited.