Siemens To Equip 1.3 GW Pakistan Plant

Siemens said October 2 it has won a €200mn ($235mn) contract to equip a 1.3 GW gas-fired power plant in Pakistan.

The plant, Punjab Power Plant Jhang, will be built at Jhang, 250km southwest of Lahore, and be fueled by regasified LNG imports.

The order was placed by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, the main contractor building the project for the independent energy provider Punjab Thermal Power.

The so-called 'power island' to be supplied by Siemens includes two "highly-efficient H-class" gas turbines (SGT5-8000H), one SST-5000 steam turbine, two heat recovery steam generators as well as control and auxiliary systems. Siemens will also be responsible for engineering and project management as well as for the associated on-site services. The power plant will initially feed electricity in simple-cycle operation in December 2018 but will convert to combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) operation in November 2019.

Siemens Power and Gas Division CEO Willi Meixner said: "It is the largest power plant order that Siemens has ever received from Pakistan."

Pakistan is increasing the use gas to generate power; this is led to strong growth in country’s LNG imports. In August a government official said that Pakistan has been able to reduce its power deficit by almost 20% due to imports of LNG, and is now using LNG to meet 25% of national gas demand. 

In only its second year as an importer, Pakistan in 2016 accounted for 1.1% of world LNG trade -- level with Thailand, the US, and separately Puerto Rico, and only just behind Chile's 1.2%. Pakistan's share will rise sharply, as the government has fostered the development of new import terminals.

In addition to the Engro LNG terminal operating since 2015 using an Excelerate vessel,  three new floating import terminals (FSRUs) -- owned by BW Gas, Excelerate, and Hoegh LNG -- are to be deployed by various consortia in Pakistan between 2017 and 2018. A fifth may follow later.

Shardul Sharma