China strong-arms 'all-weather friend' Pakistan on coal power project

NEW DELHI: China has strong-armed 'all-weather friend' Pakistan to scale back up a coal-fired power project in Balochistan, Dawn reported.

In November, Pakistan had scaled down its Hub power project - that was to be run on imported coal -from 1,320MW plant to 660MW. This was as part of an overall decision to restrict power plants based on imported fuels. The project is being developed by a consortium of Hub Power Company and China Power International Holding

Company at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion, Dawn said.

The companies were not happy with that and "took up the matter at the highest level", Dawn said.

"The Chinese side is reported to have told Pakistan that commercial viability of the Hub power project on supercritical technology was possible only with 1,320MW for which it had also been given tariff by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority on the request of the government of Pakistan," the newspaper said.

The companies also said that a reduction of capacity three years after the project was signed was "unacceptable."

Work on the project has already begun and it is expected to be completed in August 2019.