Facing rising electricity costs, the Board of Directors (BoD) of Ghani Chemical Industries Limited (GCIL) has decided to set up a multi-million dollar coal power plant.

The manufacturer of medical and industrial gases and chemicals announced the development in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

“To overcome the high utility prices issue (being the only raw material for manufacturing of medical and industrial gases), it has been decided to set up a 7MW coal power plant based on a mix of local and imported coal at Port Qasim and/or any other nearby suitable location at a projected cost of $5-5.5 million,” read the notice.

The company said that the plant is expected to save 45% to 50% power cost of its Air Separation Unit (ASU) plants installed at Port Qasim in Karachi.

“This will also provide a strong competitive advantage as power is a major element in production cost,” it added.

The development comes as rising electricity bills have become a headache for the country’s populace, hitting both the common man and businesses, who are already feeling the pinch of high inflation and slow economic activity.

Days ago, the business community said that the continuous increase in the price of electricity and gas is beyond tolerance.

Meanwhile, GCIL also said on Monday that it will relocate one of its110TPD (tons per day) ASU plants installed at Phool Nagar, Punjab to the southern region of the country, to meet the additional requirements of medical and industrial gases and to also create a backup for our other plants in the country.

The relocation will be done after the installation and commissioning of the Hattar Plant.

GCIL was incorporated in Pakistan as a private limited company on November 23, 2015, under the repealed Companies Ordinance, 1984 and was converted into a public limited company on April 20, 2017.