China helping Pakistan solve power crisis despite threats: report
Pakistan Today, 12 August 2013
Several Chinese companies and institutes are working closely with
Pakistan to address its energy crisis despite severe security threats, a
senior official of a Chinese power major has said.
The work on the landmark Gomal Zam Dam came to a halt on October 2004
after unidentified militants kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on
the project at the northwestern Pakistan near the Afghanistan border.
One was saved but the other was killed in rescue efforts. Two years
passed by before work resumed on the project.
"The Chinese staff members were brave because the location of the plant
was close to Afghanistan and relatively dangerous. That intimidated many
other foreign engineers," said Xiong Lixin, vice-president of Sinohydro
Corp Ltd, who had served as a project manager at the dam. "The security
measures would not have worked if there wasn�t a firm friendship between
the two nations," said Xiong, who left Pakistan in 2011.
Xiong told state-run 'China Daily' that Pakistan sent helicopters to
escort him to the construction site in 2006 and also dispatched armed
security guards to protect the Chinese staff.
With a capacity of 17,400 KW, the dam�s hydropower plant was
successfully connected to the national grid on June 26 and will provide
energy to about 25,000 households. The dam will also help the country
avoid annual economic losses of USD 2.6 million due to flooding. In
August last year, Some nine Water and Power Development Authority
employees working on the Gomal Zam Dam project were kidnapped by
unidentified armed men. Li Shaotong, economic and commercial counselor
of the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, said security uncertainties for
Chinese workers remain even after the Pakistani elections in May which
saw the country�s first democratic transit of power. The searing hot
weather also poses another challenge for Chinese projects in the
country. Wang Xiaojun, an engineer at China Nuclear Industry No 5
Construction Co, said temperatures reach above 35 degrees Celsius "for
several months a year" at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant in north
Pakistan, which his company has recently helped build.
Having enough manpower was another obstacle. Many Pakistani workers
lacked the technical training needed for the project, said Wang. The
Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute recently agreed to help
build a power plant in Pakistan with an annual capacity of 960,000 MW,
that uses the sugarcane byproduct to produce electricity. "Pakistan is a
country rich in sugarcane and turning that into electricity is a very
cost-effective option for the country to find a way out of its shortage
of energy," said head of the institute, Jin Donghan.
***
Chinese striving hard to meet Pakistan's energy need
8 August 2013, Daily The Pak Banker
BEIJING: Bearing scorching heat and other problems, a number of Chinese
engineers are busy in energy and infrastructure development projects in
Pakistan to address power problem.
With an ongoing energy shortage in Pakistan, several Chinese power
companies and institutes are working closely with its government to take
advantage of its natural resources and increase electricity production.
Finding a solution to the energy crisis topped Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif's agenda during his visit to China from July 3 to 8.
The Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute recently agreed to
help build a power plant in Pakistan to convert the byproduct of
processing sugarcane into electricity.
The goal is for the plant to provide an annual capacity of 960,000 mWh,
reports China Daily with headline "China helps out energy-starved
Pakistan", a series of news reports the paper is publishing these days.
The plant has the highest productivity among those of the same kind in
the world," said Jin Donghan, head of the institute. "Pakistan is a
country rich in sugarcane and turning that into electricity is a very
cost-effective option for the country to find a way out of its shortage
of energy.
Chinese companies in Pakistan have also made strides to improve its
hydroelectricity production.
Xiong Lixin, vice-president of Sinohydro Corp Ltd, served nearly seven
years ago as a project manager for the landmark Gomal Zam Dam in
northern Pakistan to help build both the dam and a hydroelectric plant
at the site.
The dam also serves to help irrigate farmland and control flooding.
Designed and built by Power Construction Corp of China, the plant
successfully connected to the national grid on June 26. Xiong said what
impressed him most during his time in Pakistan was the intelligence and
diligence of the Chinese staff who worked hard to meet construction
deadlines on the dam.
With an installed capacity of 17,400 kW, the hydroelectric plant will
provide energy to about 25,000 local households, while the dam will help
the country avoid annual economic losses of $2.6 million due to flooding.
Xiong said the dam is a symbol of China's leading construction technologies.
Pakistani people called the project their national version of the Three
Gorges Dam, a mega hydropower generation project along the Yangtze River.
The hot weather poses a challenge for Chinese projects in the country.
Wang Xiaojun, an engineer, said temperatures reach above 35 C "for
several months a year" at the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant, which China
Nuclear recently helped build.
"We only had 200 Chinese workers there and we hired more than 1,400
local people," Xiong said.
Liu Xiaoxue, a researcher on South Asian studies at the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences, said Chinese companies and contractors benefit from
employing local people in Pakistan.
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