Egyptian company investing $500m in Pakistan’s energy sector: envoy

[Shahzaz ud din]

Egyptian company investing $500m in Pakistan’s energy sector: envoy
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APP
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February 2, 2020
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ISLAMABAD: Egypt’s Ambassador to Pakistan Ahmed Fadel Yacoub on Sunday said Egyptian company El Sewedy Electric had expressed its intention of investing $500 million in Pakistan’s energy sector and had already completed the feasibility study in this regard.

“It is one of the largest Egyptian companies that has investment in many countries,” he said, adding there was a huge potential for trade and investment between the two countries.

“We encourage business associations in Pakistan, especially the chambers of commerce, to organize business trips to Egypt. The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce already intends to send a delegation to Egypt during the next few weeks,” the Egyptian envoy said in an interview with Arab News.

Yacoub said any business between the two countries or their private sector companies was always supported by his embassy.

He added that it could either be a joint venture or an initiative taken by individual companies. Either way, he noted, it benefited the people of the two countries, making his diplomatic mission work diligently to enhance bilateral investment between Pakistan and Egypt.

About the bilateral ties between Pakistan and Egypt, the ambassador said the relations between both countries were good and gaining strength with each passing day.

He maintained that both sides had always cooperated in diverse fields, adding that two very important business delegations from Egypt had recently visited Pakistan to explore investment opportunities.

“We received two very important business delegations from Egypt recently which included representatives of many big companies. One of them was an Egyptian billionaire, Naguib Sawiris, who has already invested in Pakistan but wanted to discuss new investment projects with relevant authorities,” he said.

The Ambassador said Pakistanis were welcome to visit Egypt for any purpose, including tourism, business, and study.

Yacoub said his country took great pride in hosting tourists from across the world, adding that the embassy issued more than 4,000 visas to Pakistani citizens in

2019.

“Last year, we issued over 4,000 visas to ordinary Pakistanis, most of them for tourism. The number excludes official visas or travel permits issued to diplomats and members of various delegations,” he continued.

The ambassador informed that a group of 83 Pakistanis left for Egypt last week after securing tourist visas. This, he maintained, was a standard practice since the embassy regularly received applications from large groups of Pakistanis seeking to visit the Arab state for different purposes.

“There are many people who want to visit Egypt’s cultural sites since the country has a rich and diverse history. It has its Islamic heritage, ancient history and modern beaches,” he concluded.

 

[Pakistansdefender]

Great great news.

 

[BATMAN]

Pakistan has great potential for solar energy, but there's misinformed mafia, who has been propagating against it. Let's see how long can the enemies of Pakistan succeed.

 

[Syed1.]

We have excess capacity now.... Don't need this many energy projects plus large dams are supposed to come online in this decade.

 

[Muhammad Omar]

We have excess capacity now.... Don't need this many energy projects plus large dams are supposed to come online in this decade.

We do need more energy the same thing was said when Musharaf was in power and we all saw the results. The demand is still increasing and will increase almost 10% every year so yeah more energy is needed also for the economic zones

 

[Pakistansdefender]

We do need more energy the same thing was said when Musharaf was in power and we all saw the results. The demand is still increasing and will increase almost 10% every year so yeah more energy is needed also for the economic zones

Many dams such as mohmand, gulpur, karot, dasu would come into being by 2024 and several others. Plus diamer bhasha and terbela 5 extension would also come in.
Also two karachi nuclear plant, one would come by Nov this year and other by Nov next year.
Apart from that 4.5 billion Saudi Investment in balochistan in wind and solar energy with installed capacity of 5000 mw is about to start by June. This investment has been passed by Saudi Parliament, it is govt to govt contract, and work has been going in for 1 year and now land has been purchased and pcs are made.
330 mw gawader hubco plant and 330 mw in 2nd block thar. More blocks would be auctioned off soon..
Diamer and dasu would alone produce 8000mw and dasu was funded by world Bank and basha was government decided to made with our own resources. And it would take time but we can allocate 500 million each year and easily complete it.
So we are set for Atleast 20 years. If we auction of more coal fields we are fine.

 

[YeBeWarned]

Investments and Trade are always good

 

[Shahzaz ud din]

We have excess capacity now.... Don't need this many energy projects plus large dams are supposed to come online in this decade.

Pakistan’s energy mix
By Maryam Sarim
Published: January 2, 2019
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The writer is managing an energy start-up and runs a charity by the name of Circles for a Cause

As the demand for energy continues to grow around the world, countries are using diverse resources to produce and distribute power to consumers. Recent figures indicate that countries meet as much as 80% of their energy requirement from fossil fuels i.e. oil, natural gas and coal. The remaining 20% needs are met by nuclear (5.8%), hydro (2.5%), wind, solar, biofuel, wood and biogas (10.8%). This use of different sources to generate electricity is referred to as “energy mix”. Over the last five years there has been a strong shift from use of fossil fuels to renewable sources for power generation with nearly two-thirds of new generation investment going in renewables.

There is now a broad consensus that in order to have sustainable energy supply and curb environmental damage caused by traditional power generation methods, it is imperative to have a well-proportioned energy mix. Today one-fifth of energy produced globally (165 gigawatts) comes from solar, wind and hydro-power. This is attributed to technological innovations that have led to improved efficiencies with decreased costs, improved policy support and affordable financial solutions.

China, India and the US are leading the global revolution for renewable energy, currently accounting for two-thirds of expansion whereas most EU and Scandinavian countries are meeting more than 20% of their energy needs from renewables. Pakistan is far behind in renewable race as only 2% of its energy comes from renewables and 64% from thermal (fossil fuels), 27% hydro and 7% nuclear. Relying on pricey fuel imports to meet this 64% need puts a huge burden on the country’s ailing economy whilst also increasing perilous carbon emissions. Some are of the opinion that hydro-based power plants may offer the best possible solution with lowest variable cost. These projects, however, are heavily capital-intensive and require massive upfront investments and fixed capacity payments. Growth in such plants has been slow due to funding arrangements and political disagreements between provinces.
Experts around the world are advocating use of renewable sources for power generation. Pakistan enjoys an ideal location for installation of solar systems with the highest irradiation levels. The government has taken a series of steps to attract investment in projects relating to renewable energy set-ups. These include concessionary financing, net metering options (i.e. selling excess generation to the grid), etc. With slow progress financial institutions have been unable to extend financing for renewable projects whereas businesses and household users lack awareness and trust in technology for adoption. While some utility scales and distributed solar and wind power projects have been initiated with government support, these are limited and most have yet to reach their full potential.

The Pakistan government needs to reassess its current energy mix and devise the country’s energy policy based on a cost benefit ratio as well as sustainability and optimal utilisation of indigenous resources. The environmental impact of different components making up the mix needs to be looked at critically as it can help the country curb the growing menace of pollution while reducing imports for energy. Lessons may be learnt from China which has surpassed its 2020 solar installation targets and is expected to increase wind generation target by 2019. India too is leading the renewable revolution and is expected to double its renewable capacity by 2022, with 90% of renewable growth coming from solar and wind. Pakistan must harness the abundance of renewable resources including sun, wind and other renewables to produce clean energy at much lower cost. These steps will help the government efficiently meet its energy and CO2 emission targets.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2019.

What does Pakistan’s energy mix look like and what is its future?
By Jack Unwin

A look at Pakistan's energy mix and its future. Credit: Tafe SA Tonsley.
According to US government statistics, Pakistan’s energy mix is formed of 64% fossil fuels, 27% hydropower and 9% other renewables and nuclear power.

While Pakistan has strong potential for producing renewable energy it is still far behind much of the world in developing these sources.

In a country where over 50 million people still don’t have adequate access to electricity, how is Pakistan’s energy mix evolving?
Chinese funding trap
Pakistan has benefitted from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar deal that is part of China’s Belt and Road initiative to finance infrastructure projects across Asia.

The projects funded by the CPEC include the 720MW Karot hydro-project in the disputed Kashmir region. At a cost $1.4bn, the project was begun in December 2016 and will be completed in December 2021.

However, this initiative has faced criticism in Pakistan. The CPEC has allegedly added to corruption in the country, with the value of the scheme going up from $46bn to $62bn. It has also been accused of binding countries to China through debt via expensive projects.

Because of this Pakistan has made tentative steps to distance itself away from the CPEC due to the suspicions of the current ruling party Tehreek-e-Insaf, with one cabinet minister stating that the CPEC was of “little benefit” to Pakistani’s.

Fossil fuels Pakistan
Fossil fuels still dominate Pakistan’s energy mix. Recent examples of fossil fuel-powered projects in the country include the China Power Hub Generation Company’s (CPHGC) coal fired power plant in the Balochistan region of the country, which has a capacity of 1320MW and will enter Pakistan’s energy grid by the end of 2019.

Pakistan also has domestic natural gas resources, producing nearly 37 million cubic feet in 2018. Of this, 43% is used in its power sector, powering plants such as the Balloki power plant outside of Lahore. Natural gas accounts for 40% of Pakistan’s energy needs.

Nuclear power in Pakistan
Nuclear energy has had a presence in Pakistan since the formation of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Committee in 1955, with the first nuclear power station Kanupp 1 being completed in 1971.

Pakistan currently has five reactors with a total capacity of just over 1.3GW, but there are plans to expand this. Since 2013 Pakistan has pushed for a further 2.2GW of nuclear power with two new reactors in the city of Karachi. Built with Chinese assistance, the reactors are estimated to cost $5bn.

A renewable future?
Renewable energy has been slow to develop in Pakistan, and currently only accounts for 4% of the energy mix.

However under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s current government, plans to increase the country’s renewable capacity have stepped up.

In April 2019 it was announced that Pakistan will aim to have 30% of its energy capacity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass by 2030. It has been estimated that Pakistan could produce 340GW of wind power alone.

This plan will coincide with hydropower rising slightly to 30% of Pakistan’s energy mix. According to the International Hydropower Association, Pakistan has the potential to produce 60,000MW of hydropower, but currently produces just over 7000MW.

The largest hydropower plant in the country is the Tarbela Dam project in the north of the country. With a capacity of over 4000MW, the power plant has been in operation since 1984 at a cost of nearly $1.5bn.

Having been slow on the renewable uptake Pakistan has belatedly made moves to expand its wind and solar capacity, alongside boosting its nuclear power capacity. However the fossil fuel sector still leads the way in Pakistan.