KARACHI:  Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is set to double the output from its Thar Block-II mine to 7.6 million tons per annum (mtpa) next year, it’s top official said in a statement.

CEO of SECMC Syed Abul Fazal Rizvi said, “Company achieved the financial close of phase II during the year, which would allow the production output of the mine to increase from 3.8 mtpa to 7.6 mtpa, taking the total power generation from Block-II to 1,320 MW by 2021,” he maintained in the statement issued to mark a year of successful operations of Engro Powergen Thar (Private) Limited (EPTL).

EPTL generated approximately 4,305 GwH of electricity to power one million households. During the year, SECMC unearthed and supplied a total of approximately 4.0 million tons of coal to EPTL.

EPTL is an Engro Energy company, and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is a joint venture of Government of Sindh and Engro Energy with other corporate partners.

SECMC unearthed the first layer of coal in June 2018, completed all steady state production of on-specification coal and commenced commercial operations for 3.8 million tons per annum (mtpa) output of lignite coal under phase 1 of its plan on July 10, 2019.

Engro Powergen Thar Private Limited – which operates 2×330 MW mine mouth power plants synchronizing both the power units with national grid over a year ago.

President and CEO Engro Corporation  Ghias Khan said, “The success of Thar coal projects herald shared triumph for both the company and the country as this achievement translates into energy security for Pakistan.”

Chief Executive Officer of Engro Energy Ahsan Zafar Syed said, “This achievement demonstrates our ability to deliver on mega projects that underscore the need for public-private partnerships in the country”.

CEO of EPTL Syed Manzoor Hussain Zaidi informed that the power plant continued to operate as per agreed protocols. He mentioned that given that this was the first year and for the first time that Thar coal was being used in the country to produce electricity, several teething issues were expected. However, the performance of the plant had been as per expectation with the plant ranking high in the merit order list of power plants, and also exhibiting high dispatch order.