Zafaruddin Mahmood, Pakistan's special envoy on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) inspected the Port Qasim power plant project on Feb 3.
The Pakistani envoy toured the construction of cooling facilities, main production and BOP areas, and coal piers. Then he was shown a video on the facility and also heard a report on the project’s latest developments.
According to the Pakistani envoy, the Qasim coal-fired power plant, funded and being built by the POWERCHINA Resources Ltd (PCR), a subsidiary of the Power Construction Corporation of China (POWERCHINA), serves as a role model for the many other projects under the CPEC initiative. He said the project’s good management and high construction quality showed PCR’s strong financing and engineering capabilities, and called on Chinese constructors to continue their efforts to ensure the facility will be put into operation as planned.
The envoy said he would report the project's progress to Pakistani leaders and encourage other Chinese constructors to visit the Qasim project and learn from it.
As the first CPEC energy project being implemented, the Qasim power plant is also a demonstration project that has helped Pakistan boost its economy and cultivate technological and construction professionals, said the envoy. It has set an example for passing on the traditional friendship between the two nations and also brought huge benefits to local people.
He also made some proposals about the construction and operation of the project.
The Qasim facility, one of the projects under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, marked the largest overseas thermal power project POWERCHINA and PCR had ever invested in. Since the kick-off of construction on the main project in May 2015, things have been going smoothly according to plans even under rough weather conditions like strong winds and high temperatures.
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