China, Pakistan ink $2 billion deal to build power plant in Sindh

BEIJING: China and Pakistan today signed a $2 billion agreement to jointly build a massive coal- fired power station in Pakistan's southern Sindh province.

The project will cost in excess R$2 billion, including the exploitation of a 3.8-million-tonne coal mine and the construction of a 660,000-kilowatt power station near the mine, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

China will contribute USD 800 million to the financing, while the Pakistani partners will provide $500 million, mainly through China Development Bank and Habib Bank.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, and it will be the first such project in the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The corridor will be a 3,000-kms long network of roads, railways and energy infrastructure between the ports of Gwadar in Pakistan and Kashgar in China's Xinjiang.

It was established to help lift Pakistan out of its economic slumber and boost growth for the Chinese border economy.